Tobias Rack Lever
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Front, Back, Dial, Hallmark, Inner bottom, Inner hallmark, Cap, Inner view of cap, Cap signature close-up, Movement, Edge view of movement, Second edge view of movement Early three wheel Litherland rack levers and Massey lever watches are very interesting visually because of the rapid motion of the seconds hand. M. I. Tobias & Co. was one of the major licensees of Litherland's patent. The seconds indicator hand is attached directly to the extended arbor of the escape wheel (which is actually the 4th wheel in the train) and it revolves once every 15 seconds. This is shown by the markings on the seconds indication bit that has a total of 15 marks with double marks at 5, 10 and 15 seconds. Liverpool watches from the early 19th century are sometimes found in these very elaborate cast, chased and carved cases, usually with multicolor gold dials as in this example. This example was hallmarked at Chester in 1818. These beautiful, if somewhat overdone, watches were extensively copied in a very trashy, lightweight form with low grade Swiss movements in the years after they first appeared. I think that this particular watch is one of the best examples I have ever seen and demonstrates clearly why the Tobias name was so widely forged for the next 30 or 40 years. This example also has a nice signed cap over the movement. Signed caps are not common. |
