Object Description
A Fine Two Day Marine Chronometer By Thomas Hewitt, London c. 1845
Two day marine chromometer by Thomas Hewitt housed in a beautiful three tier mahogany brass bound box with inset carrying handles to the sides, inset plaque to the front signed ‘Hewitt 1366 2 days’ below a brass push button knob opening to a third tier. The box has a wonderful rich patina and retains it’s original solid brass Tipsy key.
The movement is housed within a gimballed brass surround.
The high quality 56 hour chain fusee movement has full brass plates joined by four ringed pillars, an Earnshaw-type sprung detent escapement with maintaining power, split bi-metallic balance and cylindrical shaped temperature compensation weights, polished steel helical balance and faceted endstone.
The three and three quarter inch silvered dial signed ‘Thomas Hewitt’, maker to the Admiralty, London. No. 1366 with subsidiary dial below XII for ‘state of wind’ and subsidiary seconds dial above the VI, original ‘blued’ steel hands. Inside the seconds dial is engraved the arrow denoting military use, this is also duplicated on the backplate of the movement and on the plaque to the front of the box.
Thomas Hewitt was born in 1799 and died c.1867. He worked from different addresses in London:
12 Upper Street, Clerkenwell c.1840
10 King Street, Tower Hill, E.C c.1869
12, St John Street, Kingsland c.1860-1863
Windsor Terrace, City Road, E.C c.1856-1859
He was a well known chronometer maker originally from Prescott, Lancashire moving to London in 1812.
He devised various forms of compensation balances.
His son took over the business upon his death.