Dimensions

Height 11 ½ inches

Width 8 ½ inches

Case

The case in the form of a stylised double-sided ships wheel, one side enclosing a clock and the other a barometer, with two additional mercury thermometers, for Fahrenheit and Centigrade, attached to the curved sides. The central chrome drum with turned brass balusters, radiating outwards to support chrome rings, and terminating as capstan handles. The top with a gimballed compass, blued steel dial and silvered bezel. All supported on a fully-rotating capstan, flanked by spheres above the ratchets, on a rectangular rouge marble plinth.

Dial

Front: The clock with 3¼ inch white vitreous enamel dial, Roman hours and minute divisions and signed Elkington & Co, Paris, with blued steel hands.

Back: The barometer with 3¼ inch white vitreous enamel dial marked 27 – 31, with blued steel counterpoised arrow hand and gilt brass slave hand.

Movement

The French chain fusee movement with circular plates stamped Brevetè, Paris united by four turned pillars, fixed to the rear with brass collars and blued steel screws. The rare dual plane escapement, with bimetallic compensated balance to the silvered platform. The escape wheel acting in a vertical plane with horizontal pallets, the effect similar to a pin wheel escapement but balance controlled.

Duration

8-day

Provenance

Private collection UK.

Literature

Elkington & Co was started by George Richards Elkington and his brother, Henry Elkington, in 1824. In 1838 the brothers found success when they patented and cultivated an electroplating technique which involved coating a thin layer of metal onto the surface of a workpiece by using an electric current. This process totally revolutionised the production of silverware and flatware. By 1860, Elkington & Co. had become the world’s leading maker of plated silverware. The exceptional quality of their work lead to countless commissions, royal warrants and awards. Notable commissions included silverware for Queen Victoria, trophies for the LTW at Wimbledon and dinnerware on the Titanic. They won the Gold Medal for Excellence at the Great Exhibition, Crystal Palace, 1851 and exhibited further wares at the 1862 and 1867 Paris exhibitions, and the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876.