# Clock & Watch Fair. Sunday 10/03/2019



## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

Due to being accompanied by some expert tutelage I was able to acquire an...

1878 Silver cased Adam Burdess of COVENTRY pocket watch.

50mm, 15 jewel lever fusee.

Few quick pics














































Quite busy, usual suspects in attendance :biggrin: , always a pleasure to spend time chatting.

:thumbsup:


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## Boots (Sep 22, 2018)

That looks lovely. Congratulations!


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## Caller. (Dec 8, 2013)

Very nice. What's the dial made of?


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

Caller. said:


> Very nice. What's the dial made of?


 Dial is enamelled, Phil.

:thumbsup:


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## Caller. (Dec 8, 2013)

Karrusel said:


> Dial is enamelled, Phil.


 That confirms what I thought, thanks Alan. It's just so beautiful. I think I would rather like a watch with an enamel dial!


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## stdape (Mar 9, 2018)

Nice buy obviously the missus werent there lol


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## martinzx (Aug 29, 2010)

Well done Alan, that is a thing of beauty! :thumbsup:

Cheers Martin


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

Caller. said:


> It's just so beautiful. I think I would rather like a watch with an enamel dial!


 I agree Phil, the radiant sheen enamelled dials give off is rather appealing.  :yes:

Enamelled dials do withstand degrading extremely well but can be prone to hairlines & chipping though.

Pretty standard fare at the time my acquisition was made, producing them involves a lengthy complex set of processes, including various firings for each layer/colour/decoration, often at different temperatures (the failure rate could be quite high)

:thumbsup:


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## davidcxn (Nov 4, 2010)

That's a lovely clean looking pocket watch Alan, well done, it's a worthy addition to your collection. :thumbsup:

The maker's name rang a bell so I did a bit of checking. There was an Adam Burdess working in Coventry who patented a design whereby a watch could be wound by a lever and the time set by moving a disc. This innovation negated the need of a key.

I found a sales listing for one of these watches along with some links to other background information.

https://buyanticks.com/product/rare-english-lever-wind-pocket-watch-by-burdess-of-coventry-silver-1873c/

http://www.horologist.co.uk/coventrysigned.htm

https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=763036001&objectId=58231&partId=1#more-views

While of interest I appreciate it may not be the same watchmaker. Either way it doesn't detract from your purchase today which is a beautiful watch.


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

@davidcxn

Thank you David, It is indeed the same watchmaker.

The colleague (81 year old) who kindly assisted me with this purchase was Coventry's last official 'master' watchmaker. He has an absolutely stunning collection of timepieces, including every model Adam Burdess produced.

He is also an accepted source of knowledge on Ulysee Nardin timepieces, where he trained for a time. An invaluable & generous friend!

:thumbsup:


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