Lot 288

Fromanteel & Clarke, Case No. 2056, 56 mm, 156 g, circa 1720
A pair-cased verge pocket watch with date indicator
Case: outer case - 22k gold, engraved with birds, flower vases and foliage, case maker's punch mark "PL" with coronet above. Inner case - 22k gold, case maker's punch mark "PL" with coronet above. Dial: enamel. Movm.: full plate movement, chain/fusee, three-arm steel balance.
With branches in London, Amsterdam and Newcastle, the Fromanteel family was the first international company for the production of timepieces.
Around 1680, Ahasuerus II. Fromanteel established a partnership with Christopher Clarke from Amsterdam, who would later become his son-in-law; the company was called "Fromanteel & Clarke". Fromanteel came from a family of renowned makers and worked in London as well as in Amsterdam. The partnership ended in 1703 with Fromanteel’s death. Clarke continued the business in a new partnership with Fromanteel‘s younger brother Abraham, where they also used the "Fromanteel and Clarke" signature, without including their location.