About this lot
Description
circa 1893, spring-loaded outer cover hinged at 9 o'clock, with blue enamel Roman numerals and inner chemin de fer chapter ring around the circular glazed aperture, signed white dial, 32mm diameter, with black Roman numerals, blued double spade hands and chemin de fer chapter ring, gilt three-quarter plate mechanical crown wind movement engraved 'SIR JOHN BENNETT LIM.TD 65 CHEAPSIDE LONDON' numbered 10686, with hand setting button at 4 o'clock and onion shaped winder, case, 38mm diameter, outer lavishly decorated all over with engraved scrolls and foliage around a central vacant escutcheon shaped cartouche, verso hinged at 9 o'clock, interior with London hallmarks for 18ct gold and the sponsor mark of Arthur Baume, numbered 10686, the cuvette similarly marked and additionally engraved 'MAKER TO THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY SIR JOHN BENNETT LD 65 CHEAPSIDE LONDON' around a Royal Coat of Arms, 55g grossFootnote: Sir John Bennett (1814-1897) was one of the pre-eminent clock and watchmakers of the late 19th Century. Born the eldest son of John Bennett, watchmaker, of Greenwich, he continued in the family business along with his brother after the early death of his father, with records indicating he was a watchmaker by the age of 16.He became a well known face in the City of London and was a Common Councilman for the ward of Cheap from 1862 to 1889. In 1871, he was appointed a Sheriff of London and Middlesex and a Lord Lieutenant of the City of London. He was knighted in the same year.A flamboyant man in both his dress and public appearances, he was reported as appearing in the Lord Mayor's Show mounted on a white horse, dressed in a black velvet jacket and wearing a broad-brimmed hat. The family of his daughter, Alice, described him as ‘abominable’ and ‘something of a monster’.He retired and moved to St. Leonards-on-Sea on the Sussex coast, where he died in 1897 at the age of 82. His obituary described him as "a man of strong character, very eccentric, and one of the most familiar figures in London".
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