Tick Talk's exploration of an 1869 Charles Frodsham minute repeater offers a fascinating look into a significant piece of horological history. This post not only showcases the intricate mechanics and sound of the vintage timepiece but also delves into the rich lineage of English and Swiss watchmaking, particularly highlighting the contributions of Louis-Benjamin Audemars. It provides valuable context for understanding the interconnectedness of historical watch manufacturers.
Although a committed V&C collector, this Charles Frodsham timepiece from 1869 proved too much to resist. To begin with, it is a minute repeater! Have a look, a sound clip is included at the end...
Charles Frodsham was a celebrated English watch maker from the golden age of chronometry, along with Arnold, Earnshaw, Dent, et al. In fact, Frodsham purchased John Arnold's business in 1840 and, for a brief period, their watches were labelled "Arnold & Frodsham". Frodsham operated from 1810 until his death in 1871 but the name continues to this day as a maker of clocks; recently constructing, on behalf of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, a bespoke fusee carriage clock for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
Commencing in 1851, Frodsham marked their most important movements with the cryptogram "AD Fmsz", which appears on this piece. Letters from their name were matched with numbers to give the date of "1850", in celebration of the year that Frodsham developed their now ubiquitous 3/4 plate movement. But....their complicated timepieces were most often sourced from top Swiss makers Nicole Neilsen and Louis-Benjamin Audemars; two names which will attract the interest of vintage watch enthusiasts!
Louis-Benjamin Audemars of Le Brassus is one of those long-dead makers that continues to gain the respect of collectors and historians for his prolific and significant contributions to horology. In fact, he has been mentioned as second only to Breguet in this regard. The respect between these two makers was strong enough that Breguet and LB Audemars entered into a joint venture in 1876, whereupon many of Breguet's complicated pieces were based upon LB Audemars ebauches. Research who it was that provided Patek with their first stem-winding movements (before Adrien Philippe), and who was awarded the Legion d'Honneur by the French government for their masterpiece at the Paris Exposition of 1878 for additional details of this maker's achievements.
In addition to the science of watchmaking, LB Audemars is renowned today for their quality of craftsmanship. Entirely handmade in their own shops, the cost of each piece was exceedingly high for a time when mechanization was on the rise (aided by the inventions of Georges-Auguste Leschot at V&C) and prices were on the decline; two forces which eventually led to the company's demise in 1885.
This timepiece, with it's Frodsham number, appears in the registers of LB Audemars; made available by Hartmut Zantke in his substantial book "Louis-Benjamin Audemars His Life and Work", and the "Notice historique" of Louis Audemars, recently translated from the 1922 original by descendant Paul Audemars and published under the title "The Story of Louis Audemars & Cie". Mr. Audemars, as custodian of the surviving records, has kindly provided a certificate and extract of the ledgers for the watch.
Made to order, the construction is entirely English in concept. The massive 18k pink-gold case from London maker Robert Rowlands houses a 4/5 plate movement which, unfortunately, obstructs an appreciation of the mechanicals. What can be seen is marvelous: frosted gilt movement with key winding and setting, blued screws, jeweled and screwed chatons, a lateral lever escapement acting on a pointed-tooth escape wheel which shares its bridge with the cut, compensated bi-metallic balance wheel with faceted diamond endstone, blued Breguet hairspring, and index regulator on a wonderfully chased cock.
Audemars ledgers show the piece was returned to Le Brassus from London in 1880 for repairs to the repeater mechanism and fitment of a new dial. This situation reveals the hazards of handmade watches; when no two ebauches were ever the same, repairs became very time consuming as any new parts had to be individually made and tediously trial-and-error fitted to ensure correct operation. LOL, its a situation that vintage collectors today still confront.
FWIW, Louis-Benjamin Audemars was a cousin to Jules-Louis Audemars of the family branch that co-founded Audemars-Piguet in 1875. Their family history is fascinating and full of names we recognize today, but of course, that is why Zantke could fill a book!
I'm still working on identifying the heraldic crest engraved on the cover, but the eagle was a very popular symbol. Hope you've enjoyed this brief tour of an old watch 
Added picture in for preview picture for FrontPage -AT
This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2013-11-14 16:08:33 
