According to the two octogenarian watchmakers that have been giving the watch below a long overdue lube and tune-up, the "movement" ( their term for the internal gears, springs and such ) of the pocket watch below was manufactured between 1790 and 1830, with an absolute hard stop at 1830.
Evidently, one of the two gents that had to tag team working on the watch because of its age and internal complexity is a history buff and horologist extraordinaire. According to our conversation yesterday afternoon, its internal workings include a fusee, a chain-type mechanism which has been around since the 1500's, and it is definitely one of the oldest watches either of them can remember working on.
All I can say at this point is: WOW! To think this watch possibly dates back to the late 1700's and has been passed down through ~five or more generations of the Williams, Stewart or Clemow families just boggles my mind. My great-grandfather Edward C. Williams was born in 1880, and his father Samuel in 1855. The history buff claims with absolute certainty that they stopped making this watch's specific type of movement in 1830.
Other than being made in the USA, I have little more to go on at this point. When I get some time, I will track down one of those Antique Roadshow-type folks and see if I can learn some more about this second piece of family history ( so far ) that possibly dates to the late 1700's. For those that would be inclined to convert this watch to cash on the open market, suffice it to say that this gem's fate is to be passed down to many yet-to-be-born future generations of the Williams family.
Tempus fugit indeed.
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