Donnington Priory Salerooms

57
A fine lacquered brass ‘Concorde’
skeleton timepiece with Harrison’s
grasshopper escapement
Fred Whitlock for Dent, London, 1970’s
The substantial five-pillar A-shaped pierced
plates with compound ‘dumb bell’ pendulum,
grasshopper escapement and large
escapewheel with Harrison type 20 second
spring rementoire driven from a weight with
Huygens style endless chain self-wound via
an electric winder every seven minutes, the
front applied with pierced brass and blackbutton
applied abstract chapter ring, 66cm
high, on rectangular mahogany base with
glass cover, 75cm high overall.
Provenance: Acquired directly from the maker
by a family member of the vendor.
This skeleton timepiece was conceived and
constructed by Fred Whitlock for retail by
Dent and is based on a design by Martin
Burgess. Approximately 25 examples were
constructed during the 1970’s with a further
batch of around 10 produced from unused
parts discovered in around 2000.
The grasshopper escapement was
developed by John Harrison in the early
1720’s, first used in his precision longcases
and turret clocks it was later employed in his
marine timekeepers H1-3. The spring
rementoire (a device enabling power to be
isolated and delivered to the escapewheel
alone thus alleviating error caused by varying
friction in the wheel train) was developed by
Harrison in the 1730’s whilst refining the
design of H2. In essence this clock
serves to demonstrate the escapement
action and rementoire design employed
in Harrison’s marine timekeeper H2.
£2,000-3,000
26
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