# My Latest Find, 1861 Dent Pocket Watch.



## stevieb (Feb 12, 2010)

Hi here's some photo's of my latest pocket watch. As a collector 20 years ago when starting out i would look at books and dream of one day owning something like this.

Its completely original even down to the glass.

It doesn't run at the moment because of [i think] a boken fusee chain but it might just be detached.

Its a full plate with an english lever escapement, a steel balance with diamond end stones.

The quality is outstanding and i can't wait to investigate between the plates! I may be lucky and find all it needs is the fusee chain reconnecting [touch wood].

I think i've said enough so heres the photos.





































BTW i've already replaced the seconds hand with one i had . :to_become_senile:

Steve


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## stevieb (Feb 12, 2010)

Now for me it's the movement that makes this special:-




























As you can see from this last image i have fitted a seconds hand.

I haven't the time to strip it down to look for the fault, so it'll have to wait a couple of weeks and i'll do it at Easter

Your comments would be most welcome.

Steve


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## a6cjn (Oct 29, 2009)

Wow Steve, that's quite a bit of history there, 1826 ??

I've been messing with pocket watches for a very long time but fusee movements have always been a mystery to me

I had trouble with me bike chain when I was a lad so how anyone could make those chains and fit them is beyond me 

Bit of info' about Dent here

I think a nice fitted case would work well with that

Chris


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## stevieb (Feb 12, 2010)

Here's a better image of the marks, I thought it was 1861?










Thee case may have been replaced because i too thought it could be earlier than 1861 especially being by dent who where technically very good??

steve


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## a6cjn (Oct 29, 2009)

Yep.1861, lower case 'f'

I took it to be a lower case 'l' in the first pic

When you get around to taking it apart, can you take some pics please?

I just find it fascinating how they can be taken apart and, hopefully, put back together and they start to tick

Chris


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## ValvesRule (May 20, 2009)

a6cjn said:


> Wow Steve, that's quite a bit of history there, 1826 ??
> 
> I've been messing with pocket watches for a very long time but fusee movements have always been a mystery to me
> 
> ...


Fitting them's quite simple; actually doing anything to them is the complicated bit, especially ones after 1840ish(?) which are machine-made, smaller and correspondingly more fiddly.


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## bsa (Dec 23, 2010)

Steve please keep us up to date with photos and commentary.

Thanks Mark


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## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

ValvesRule said:


> a6cjn said:
> 
> 
> > Wow Steve, that's quite a bit of history there, 1826 ??
> ...


I believe they used cat gut before they used chains on a fusee, am I correct?


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## ValvesRule (May 20, 2009)

AlanJohn said:


> ValvesRule said:
> 
> 
> > a6cjn said:
> ...


Correct.

I don't know the date, but I would think Chains started to be used before the end of the 16th Century. There is a Movement in the Clockmakers' Museum in the London Guildhall in which can be seen a Cat gut FusÃ©e.


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## Roger the Dodger (Oct 5, 2009)

Would definately like to see some pics of the progress, Steve....along the lines of the recent Grandfather Clock Project.


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