Lewis Walduck

Jayne Hall, from BWCMG Timepiece magazine

On Monday the 4th of May, as part of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors’ recent tour of England, a party of sixty five members travelled to Oxford for the first engagement in what proved to be a wonderfully busy and varied itinerary. Their destination was the remarkable Ashmolean Museum, home to one of the finest collections of early watches in the country.

Upon arrival, the group was warmly welcomed by the museum’s Curator of Western Art, Matthew Winterbottom, who provided an engaging introduction to both the history of the museum and the significance of its collections. Founded in 1683, the Ashmolean is Britain’s oldest public museum, and its horological holdings remain amongst the most important and fascinating anywhere in Europe.

Following this introduction, the visitors, together with a smaller gathering of specially invited guests, assembled in the museum’s lecture theatre for a talk delivered by Guild Director and Bonhams clock specialist Lewis Walduck. Lewis presented a richly illustrated lecture on the Ashmolean’s collection of pocket watches and clocks, beginning with a concise history of the museum itself before turning to the great collectors whose enthusiasm and scholarship helped form the foundation of the collection as we know it today. Their efforts, spanning generations, created what is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished collections of early horology in Britain.

The lecture then explored a number of exceptional highlights from the collection in chronological order. Amongst the earliest pieces discussed was one of the oldest surviving watches in existence, a remarkable pomander watch dating from the 1540s and made in Germany. This extraordinary object, belonging to the very earliest generation of portable timekeepers, offered a rare glimpse into the beginnings of watchmaking as both a technical and artistic pursuit.

Lewis continued by examining several of the museum’s important astronomical and form watches, including a particularly fascinating book watch made in Munich in the late sixteenth century by Hans Kock. Combining watchmaking and scientific curiosity, the watch perfectly illustrated the Renaissance fascination with both mechanics and the wider understanding of the cosmos.

The lecture concluded with what many regard as the jewel of the Ashmolean’s horological collection: the magnificent Breguet carriage clock No. 780. Made in silver gilt and fitted with an engine turned dial, the clock incorporates an astonishing array of complications including moon age indication, power reserve, alarm, calendar and sidereal calendar displays. Most notably, it is recognised as the first clock ever made to incorporate a tourbillon, in this instance a two minute revolving carriage paired with an Earnshaw spring detent escapement. Minute repeating and technically extraordinary in every respect, it stands not only as one of Abraham Louis Breguet’s greatest clocks, but arguably as one of the finest carriage clocks ever made.

Following the lecture, guests were treated to a truly memorable study session in which a selection of highlights from the collection were carefully removed from their cases for closer examination. Joined by both Lewis Walduck and Matthew Winterbottom, attendees were given the rare opportunity to view these remarkable watches and clocks at close quarters, with cases opened and movements revealed in detail. For many present, this access to objects of such rarity and importance was undoubtedly the highlight of the day.

The visit proved to be an enormously enjoyable occasion and a tremendous privilege for the NAWCC group. The generosity of the Ashmolean Museum in allowing such close access to its celebrated collection was greatly appreciated by all who attended, and the day served as a fine reminder of the enduring enthusiasm and fellowship that continue to unite the horological community on both sides of the Atlantic.