Lot 175

Vulliamy

A very fine, heavy London pair-cased pocket watch with half quarter repeater "à toc". This watch was purchased by King George III (1738–1820) in February 1804 and given to his youngest daughter, Amalia (1783–1810)

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Benjamin Vulliamy (1747–1811), an English watchmaker and chronometer maker, was the son of the Swiss watchmaker Justin Vulliamy (1712–1797). In 1775, Benjamin took over his father's workshop in Pall Mall, London, and began manufacturing precision pendulum clocks for observatories, as well as pocket watches and chronometers. From 1800, he was the official watchmaker to King George III, for whom he made a precision pendulum clock, among other items. His son, Benjamin Louis Vulliamy (1780–1854), later took over the workshop.
As the clocks were numbered consecutively over three generations, and as some of the workshop records are preserved at the British Horological Institute, Vulliamy clocks can usually be dated accurately. This provides interesting insights into the development of clock technology at the time.
Source: wikipedia.org
Provenance:
1. George William Frederick, King of Great Britain and Ireland (1738-1820)
2. Princess Amalia Sophia Eleanor of Great Britain, Ireland and Hanover (1783–1810)