Lot 315

Daniel Quare, London, Movement No. 2072, 59 mm, 228 g, circa 1690
A remarkable, rare pair-cased verge pocket watch with alarm
Case: outer case - silver. Inner case - silver, rear bell. Dial: silver champlevé. Movm.: full plate movement, chain/fusee, 2 barrels, 1 hammer, three-arm steel balance.
The outer case of this single hand pair case pocket watch by Daniel Quare is completely unadorned and the design is very puristic. The inner case is finely finished, with open-work scroll ornamentation for the alarm sound that is additionally decorated with garlands and bird motifs. The ornate balance cock and the engraved gilt alarm barrel are particularly striking.
The flower hand sits on the central disc and shows the time on the outer hour ring with Roman numerals. The central steel hand can be adjusted to set the alarm on the alarm disc with its Arabic numerals. The alarm is sounded when the hand points to 12 on the hour dial.
Daniel Quare, one of the most eminent makers was born around 1648 in Somersetshire. He joined the clockmakers company in 1671 and became a master in 1708. He died on March 21, 1724, in Croydon in Surrey.
In addition to his legendary clocks and watches Quare created various barometers and mathematical instruments and is credited with the invention of the rack striking mechanism. He came to the attention of the King in 1686, when Edward Barlow tried to patent a repeating mechanism for watches, and Quare, with the support of the clockmakers company, appealed his patent, saying he had been making repeaters since 1680. Repeating was important in the era before easily turned-on electric light, so you could know what time it was in the dark. Barlow's patent was refused, and the king, testing Barlow's and Quare's watches side by side, stated a preference for Quare's.
There are Quare clocks in the royal collections at Buckingham Palace and Hampton Court, as well as in important museums and further private collections.