Joseph Preston lever watch movement ébauche
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
circa 1860
This English full-plate watch movement ébauche was made in Prescot by Joseph Preston, dated circa 1860 (or late 19th to early 20th century in museum notes). Designed for a lever escapement that was never fitted, the unfinished mechanism incorporates an uncut fusee equipped with Harrison's maintaining power, four turned pillars, and an unpivoted four-wheel brass train.
The front plate features a raised flange, a recessed face, and a stepped rim intended to seat a dial. Two separate curved brass bridges secure the fusee and the third wheel and fourth pinion, accompanied by stamped sizing numerals and maker's marks.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Technical characteristics
- Type
- Ébauche
- Maker
- Joseph Preston
- Construction
- Full-plate ébauche with separate bridges
- Place recorded
- England
- Escapement design
- Lever escapement (not yet fitted)
- Maintaining power
- Harrison's maintaining power with uncut fusee
- Movement diameter
- 43 mm
- Maker / attribution
- Joseph Preston
- Place of manufacture
- England (Prescot)
Design
- Visible features
- • Front plate view displaying two curved brass bridges secured by polished steel screws • Visible stamped marks reading '12', '0', '3', and 'J.P' on the brass front plate • Unfinished unpivoted train arbors protruding through plate apertures • Raised outer flanged edge and stepped dial seating rim around movement perimeter
- Observations of Assembly
- The potence remains in a rough state and is oversized, which impinges on the fusee and fourth wheel, preventing the back plate from fitting against the pillar shoulders. While balance holes are drilled in the balance cock and back plate, they are absent in the potence. The front plate bears the stamped marks '12 0 3' and 'J.P'. The back plate was intended to be secured by pins, but the corresponding holes remain undrilled.
- Object Identity and Manufacture
- This object is an incomplete English full-plate lever watch movement ébauche manufactured in Prescot, Lancashire. The movement is attributed to Joseph Preston, with source notes identifying the mark as associated with the firm Joseph Preston & Son. Dating for the item is recorded as circa 1860 in the main museum description, though supplemental catalogue notes for this piece also reference a broader 'late 19th or early 20th century' timeframe.
- Mechanical Construction and State of Completion
- The ébauche features a full-plate layout supported by four turned pillars, with a separate barrel-bridge and individual bridges for the train wheels and fusee on the front plate. It is currently unfinished and lacks a dial, hands, case, motion work, and escapement components. The fusee is equipped with Harrison's maintaining power but lacks an uncut groove for the chain. The brass train wheels include a solid centre wheel, with third and fourth wheels featuring five crossings. The arbors are unpivoted, extending beyond the plates and ending in male centres.
Identification
- 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.
Research required
- Research required: Dating varies between circa 1860 in published catalogue text and late 19th or early 20th century in manuscript notes
- Research required: Maker attribution varies between Joseph Preston and Joseph Preston & Sons
- Research required: Incomplete ébauche lacking dial, hands, case, motion work, escapement parts, and mainspring hooking