The Bruce-Oosterwijck Longitude Pendulum Sea Clock Movement and Case
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
circa 1662
This spring-driven longitude pendulum sea clock movement was made by Severijn Oosterwijck in The Hague circa 1662 for Alexander Bruce, in collaboration with Christiaan Huygens and Robert Moray.
The tapered-plate single-fusee movement is inscribed 'Severijn Oosterwijck Fecit Haghe' and fitted with an auxiliary sixty-division scale on the backplate. The assembly is housed within a modern conjectural brass reconstruction of the original cheese-wedge-shaped marine case, suspended from a Cardan-type ball and socket pivot with an upper mounting flange.
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
- Other clock
- Maker
- Severijn Oosterwijck
- Dial plate design
- Cheese-wedge shaped matted gilt brass dial
- Engraved signature
- Severijn Oosterwijck Fecit Haghe
- Maker / attribution
- Severijn Oosterwijck
- Movement dimensions
- 5.375 inches wide by 6.675 inches high
- Suspension mounting
- Cardan-type ball and socket pivot
Design
- Visible features
- • Cheese-wedge triangular cast brass case suspended via a vertical cylindrical mount and flat drilled rectangular flange • Gilt matted dial plate bearing an applied circular silvered chapter ring with Roman numerals and outer Arabic five-minute markers • Two steel hands, including an hour hand with a pierced quatrefoil/heart motif • Winding aperture situated in the lower right portion of the chapter ring center
- Dial and Signature
- The movement is fitted with a cheese-wedge shaped matted gilt brass dial plate measuring 10.125 inches high by 10 inches wide. It features a silvered Roman numeral chapter ring, stylised trident half-hour markers, and Arabic five-minute notations within an outer track. An engraved signature, 'Severijn Oosterwijck Fecit Haghe', is located on the lower margin. The pendulum has an effective length of approximately 7.125 inches, fitted with a suspension spring and a ring-turned lenticular bob with a central aperture and winged rating nut.
- Case and Suspension
- The movement and dial are housed in a heavy cast brass conjectural reconstruction of the original cheese-wedge-shaped case, formed of two sections joined by a riveted band. The rear panel features a glazed hinged porthole to view the subsidiary dial. The assembly is suspended via a Cardan-type ball and socket pivot from a drilled rectangular flange, measuring 41cm (16 ins) high overall.
- Movement Construction and Mechanism
- The movement is a single fusee design with heavily tapered plates measuring a maximum of 5.375 inches wide by 6.675 inches high. It is held together by four finned column turned pillars pinned through the backplate and a fifth slender square-section pillar positioned at the lower margin between the fusee and the mainspring barrel. The four-wheel train includes a re-cut fusee and a replaced great wheel to allow for an approximate one-week duration. The contrate wheel arbor passes through the backplate to a brass hand indicating against a ring of sixtieths engraved directly onto the backplate. The crown wheel features a long arbor to allow for the pendulum to be suspended from the apex of the plates.
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: The triangular brass sea case is a modern conjectural reconstruction of the original 17th-century housing
- Research required: Lot also includes an auxiliary square dial and a walnut table clock case not visible in this primary photograph
- Research required: Movement backplate and interior train are concealed within the case in this view