Dent, London Yellow Gold Open-Faced Keyless Split-Seconds Chronograph Pocket Watch, No. 26507

Technical characteristics

Case

18k yellow gold with London hallmarks for 1870 and casemaker's initials AN for Adolph Nicole

Dial

Eccentric white enamel dial with Roman numerals

Type

Split-seconds chronograph pocket watch

Diameter

49 mm

Function

Single-button split-seconds chronograph watch without reset

Movement

Nicole Nielsen winding, lever escapement, gilt three-quarter plate movement, bi-metallic compensation balance

Place recorded

United Kingdom

Maker / attribution

Dent, London

Design

Visible features

• Frontal view of an open-faced yellow gold pocket watch with an eccentric white enamel dial. • Black Roman numeral hour chapter ring offset downwards relative to the center. • Blued steel spade-tipped hour and minute hands accompanied by two central chronograph seconds hands. • Fluted winding crown with crown bow bearing a small stamped punch mark.

Case Construction and Hallmarking

The 18k yellow gold case measures 49 mm in diameter and includes functional exterior controls consisting of a pin for hand setting and a crown locking slide positioned along the band. The auction entry records that the case is numbered 26507, stamped with casemaker's initials 'AN' attributed to Adolph Nicole, and bears London hallmarks corresponding to 1870. The case back exterior and inner hallmarks cannot be evaluated from the single frontal image provided.

Reported Movement and Chronograph Operation

The movement is not exposed in the visual documentation, but the source describes it as a gilt three-quarter plate lever escapement movement with Nicole Nielsen keyless winding and a bi-metallic compensation balance. The backplate is catalogued as signed 'Dent, Watchmaker to the Queen, 33, Cockspur Street, London, Patent, No. 26507'. Functionally, the mechanism is described as an unusual single-button split-seconds chronograph operated through the crown without a standard zero-reset. The source specifies a three-stage sequence: an initial crown depression splits the hands and stops the lower hand while the upper hand continues running; a second depression stops the second hand; and a third depression causes both hands to rejoin and resume running simultaneously.

Dial Configuration and Visual Characteristics

The pocket watch presents an open-faced configuration featuring an eccentric white enamel dial. The primary timekeeping chapter ring, formed of black Roman numerals, is visibly shifted downwards relative to the dial center. Time is indicated by blued steel spade-tipped hour and minute hands, while two blued central seconds hands serve the chronograph complication. According to cataloguing details, the dial is signed 'Dent, 33 Cockspur St., London, 26507'. Above the dial assembly, the yellow gold case is fitted with a fluted winding crown, accompanied by a crown bow showing a small stamped punch mark.

Identification

Serial number

26507

Source note

Facts transcribed from the linked source listing or collection record. Attribution and specifications are source-reported and have not been independently authenticated.

Catalogue references

No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.