Highly interesting English silver pocket chronometer Circa 1851

Silver open faced chronometer by Barraud
–
A highly interesting English silver open faced pocket chronometer, hallmarked London 1851. This watch has a gilt full plate movement, is key winding, and has screwed chatons. It also has a chain and fusee, formed pillars, and a spring detent chronometer in the manner of Thomas Earnshaw. The watch has a heavy-type Pennington gold/platinum screw balance, free-swinging blued helical balance, and a diamond endstone. The white enamel dial has Roman hours, outer minute divisions, a subsidiary seconds dial, and a gold hour hand with a replaced minute hand. The plain case has gold hinges with the case maker’s punch GH for George John Hammon. The case is numbered, and the dial and movement are signed and numbered.
–
Diameter: 57 mm
–
Weight: 161 g
–
Signed: Barraud 41 Cornhill London
–
The Barrauds, a family of watchmakers. Paul Philip Barraud was a prominent English watchmaker who lived and worked in London, specifically in Cornhill. He became well-known for the construction of chronometers. He was born on December 5th, 1752 in Soho, London to Francis Gabriel Barraud and Magdalen Bennin Crespin, the daughter of a well-known Huguenot silversmith named Paul Crespin.

In 1796, he became a member of the Clockmakers’ Company and a master from 1810 to 1811. Paul Philip formed a partnership with George Jamison and William Howells. He married Marriet Chapman and they had seven children together. Three of their sons, Frederick Joseph, John and James also learned the watchmaking trade. He further taught other watchmakers, including Thomas Robison from December 1st, 1800, to December 7th, 1812, and William Turpin from June 5th or June 6th, 1809. After a long and painful illness, Paul Philip died on August 26th, 1820 in Croydon, Surrey and Frederick Joseph assumed management of the firm under the name Barraud & Son, Barraud & Sons and Barrauds.

Frederick Joseph was free of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1806. He took his son Frederick Philip and the son of his brother John, Hilton Paul, as his apprentices. John himself had only a minor role in the business and the youngest brother James did not follow the trade at all. The company manufactured over 1.000 chronometers between 1796 and 1820. In 1838, Frederick Philip joined in partnership with John Richard Lund, a horological inventor, they renamed the firm Barrauds & Lund. In 1846 Hilton Paul replaced his uncle, Frederick Joseph in the firm. Frederick Joseph died on September 4th, 1859.

Paul Philippe Barraud was also the great-grandfather of William Barraud (1810-1850) and Henry Barraud (1811-1874), who were well-known animal painters. Henry Barraud’s son was painter Francis Barraud (1856–1924), who became known for creating the iconic “His Master’s Voice” logo of a dog named Nipper next to a gramophone.