95th Auction
2017/5/6
Lot 384
William Weichert, "Maker to the Admiralty", 119 Bute Docks, Cardiff, Movement No. 2314, 175 x 190 x 175 mm, circa 1870
A rare ship's chronometer with 56h power reserve from the property of the Earl "Conti di Valdagno Castelvecchio"
Case: mahogany, ebonized. Dial: silvered. Movm.: brass movement, chain/fusee, spring detent escapement according to Thomas Earnshaw, bimetallic chronometer balance with 2 weights and 4 screws.
Little is known about the life of William Weichert, and few and far between are the chronometers from his workshop. He was born around 1830 in Austria and went to Wales around 1859, where he worked at 112 Bute Docks, Rothsay Terrace in Cardiff; later his address was 119 Bute Docks. Weichert and his wife Elizabeth had seven children. In 1866 he obtained patent no. 2446 for the "Construction and arrangement of chronometers, barometers and thermometers". Weichert also produced pocket chronometers, deck watches and nautical instruments. Weichert took part in the exhibitions in Paris and Havre in 1867 and 1868, as well as in the chronometer tests of 1873 in Greenwich. The dial of this chronometer is engraved with "Golden Cross and Crown from His Majesty the Emperor of Austria"; this indicates that he also may have been supplier to the Austrian navy - one of the largest fleets in the world until the First World War. Its home port was Trieste.
The chronometer is in overall excellent condition. The striking ebonized case is lavishly decorated with brass ornaments and bears the family crest of the Earls of Marzotto with crown and the motto "Sua texit labor fata".
A rare ship's chronometer with 56h power reserve from the property of the Earl "Conti di Valdagno Castelvecchio"
Case: mahogany, ebonized. Dial: silvered. Movm.: brass movement, chain/fusee, spring detent escapement according to Thomas Earnshaw, bimetallic chronometer balance with 2 weights and 4 screws.
Little is known about the life of William Weichert, and few and far between are the chronometers from his workshop. He was born around 1830 in Austria and went to Wales around 1859, where he worked at 112 Bute Docks, Rothsay Terrace in Cardiff; later his address was 119 Bute Docks. Weichert and his wife Elizabeth had seven children. In 1866 he obtained patent no. 2446 for the "Construction and arrangement of chronometers, barometers and thermometers". Weichert also produced pocket chronometers, deck watches and nautical instruments. Weichert took part in the exhibitions in Paris and Havre in 1867 and 1868, as well as in the chronometer tests of 1873 in Greenwich. The dial of this chronometer is engraved with "Golden Cross and Crown from His Majesty the Emperor of Austria"; this indicates that he also may have been supplier to the Austrian navy - one of the largest fleets in the world until the First World War. Its home port was Trieste.
The chronometer is in overall excellent condition. The striking ebonized case is lavishly decorated with brass ornaments and bears the family crest of the Earls of Marzotto with crown and the motto "Sua texit labor fata".
Sold
estimated
3.700—5.000 €
Price realized
5.900 €