English precision pocket watch à Trois Couleurs Circa 1816

Rare gold open faced pocket watch by John Roger Arnold
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A rare, small English precision pocket watch à Trois Couleurs, circa 1816.
18-Carat gold, engine-turned case, floral à Trois Couleurs gold decor, with reeded band, gold dome, and case maker’s punch mark TH(Thomas Hardy). Gold dial, with an engine-turned centre, raised radial Roman hours on a chased ground and blued spade hands. Signed full plate movement, keywind, gilt, with chain/fusee, three-arm steel balance, ruby cylinder escapement, and engraved regulator scale with a long blued index hand.
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Diameter: 40 mm
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Weight: 78 g
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Signed: John R. Arnold, London
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John Roger Arnold (1769-1843)
John Roger Arnold was the son of renowned British horologist John Arnold. He began his apprenticeship with A.-L. Breguet in Paris in 1792. The younger Arnold became a member of the Clockmaker’s Company in 1796 and was a Master in 1817. He took up a partnership with E.J. Dent in 1830 and the two craftsmen experimented heavily during their work together; in particular, they concentrated on the effects of magnetism on chronometers. Dent left Arnold in 1840, whereupon Arnold continued working on his own but died only three years later. Charles Frodsham bought the business after Arnold’s death in February 1843, and it flourished until 1858 under the name Arnold and Frodsham.