Superb 1898 Open-faced Silver Dial Fusee Pocket Watch by Alexander Sharples of Brechin, Scotland

Superb, late Victorian open-faced silver dialled fusee pocket watch, by watchmaker Alexander Sharples, of 28 Bridge Street, Brechin, Forfarshire (Angus), Scotland. • Silver hallmarked Chester 1898. • Silver dial and subsidiary second’s dial, with an engine turned flinqué style Guilloché pattern. • Gold outer garlanded ring, with two centralised rings of hand-rendered gold floral decoration. • Raised Gothic style gold Roman numerals. • Original blued hands. • Sharples signed fusee movement with compensated balance and diamond end stone. • London steel regulating indicator bar. • Case maker was Thomas Richard Arnott (“T.R.A”) of Chester Street, Coventry. • Case and movement serial numbers are the same: “18156.” • Ornately decorated hand-engraved case, with milled bevel and florally rendered cartouche. • Comes with a winding key, together with instructions on how to wind and set the watch time. Born 1874 in Brechin, Sharples served as an apprentice watchmaker and jewellery hawker for his watchmaking father Joseph Sharples from the age of 15, before relocating to Perth, Scotland in 1891 to complete the final two years of his apprentice, under master watchmaker Joseph Small. On completion, Sharples returned to Brechin as a certified watchmaker, eventually taking over the Bridge Street family business from his father in c1895, when he would have been just 21-22 years of age. Note: This watch does not come with a chain or fob. If you require a silver chain/fob from our large stock, please contact us for advice.