#180 • William Allam, 22K cylinder fusee w/historically interesting papers
Part of 261022 - "Fall Featured Auction" Horology, Jewelry & Coins - October 1 - 22 (timed auction by Jones & Horan Auctions)
High bid $4,200.00
Status: Available
Live bidding starts Oct 22, 2026 11:00 AM EDT
EPW - William Allam, London, cylinder fusee, 47mm, heavy 22K gold OF original pair cases bearing London hallmarks for 1759, incuse casemaker's "P M" for Peter Mounier, Frith Street, Soho, outer case with fine foliate engraving detail, white enamel dial, KWKS (key not included with this lot), cylinder escapement with steel escape wheel, gilt mvt with pierced and foliate scrolled balance cock with large diamond endstone and with grotesque mask at neck, signed gilt locking dust-cap, s#701 with matching serial number to dust-cap. Gross weight of assembled watch 72.1 dwt (112.1 g). Materials tested via XRF analysis. A lovely piece with interesting papers inside case rear that purport original ownership of this watch to the historically notable figure Major General John Winslow (1703-1774), but also have some inconsistencies and ambiguities among the information they present. The following information summarizes the data well, as taken from our previous sale of this piece in 2013 - "The watch has a paper in back stating "Presented to Genl John Winslow (lr?) 1752 about 1807 as a token of gratitude for services given." Behind that paper are two more perpetual calendar papers from M Regally in Boston (listed 1842-6), one partial, one complete, the first noting repair for Mary A Winslow in January 1838, the second for the same person detailing installation of new cylinder, cylinder wheel and hairspring in 1845. The papers give us tantalizing clues that are inconclusive. The handwritten paper, appearing to be from the second quarter of the 19th century, makes little sense. General John Winslow was descended from Pilgrim Edward Winslow, born in 1703 and died in 1774, the watch was produced in 1759. The watch is absolutely of the type and quality that a man of his station would have possessed. There were no subsequent John Winslows who were generals to be confused with. Nothing could have happened with the General in 1807, or the watch in 1752, so the attempt to put down a bit of family history was definitely incorrect in its data, a very commonplace occurrence. The fact that a Mary Winslow had the watch restored in 1838 and 1845 suggests her possible authorship of the paper, and her descendancy, and the description of work marries the papers to the watch. But we can find no record of descendancy of a Mary A. Winslow among the various Mary Winslows to be found in the most extensive genealogy produced by Maria Winslow in the third quarter of the 19th century; unless, of course, the watchmaker misunderstood and wrote "Maria" as "Mary A." So further research is needed to find any data increasing the probability that this watch was owned by this most illustrious General whose portrait by John Singleton Copley still exists." CONDITION: Mvt: Running, excellent cosmetic mvt condition overall, some scattered small scratches and nicks; virtually flawless dial with few negligible micro-fine scratches; excellent hands, some finish loss to minute; outer case shows medium wear, few mild dings to rear, reduced engraving detail, button latch with good function but button is sheered off; inner case shows light wear, profuse pinpoint nicks; bow pivots freely; domed glass crystal is clouded with profuse scratches and abrasions. Case papers as pictured, with one partial and substantially torn apart and its remains will be shipped within a plastic holder rather than left in situ inside the watch case. Estimate: $5,200 - $6,400 JH-80739
