Charles Frodsham & Co Ltd Age Assessment

watch type

• Spindle escapement (Verge) → mostly before 1830

• Cylinder escapement → ca. 1820–1870

• Anchor escapement / chronometer escapement → later 19th century

Frodsham was a founding member and later vice-president of the British Horological Institute and a member of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, of which he was Master in 1855 and 1862.

Legacy and Succession

Charles Frodsham's grave in Highgate Cemetery
Frodsham died of liver disease in 1871 and was buried on the west side of Highgate Cemetery in London. His obituary stated that he "distinguished himself during a long and honorable career by his devotion to the art of watchmaking, which he significantly advanced, and that his insightful works on the subject are regarded by experts as authoritative."

Charles' son Harrison Mill Frodsham (1849–1922) took over the company and followed in his father's footsteps by publishing his own theoretical works on watchmaking, including a significant series of articles entitled "Some materials for a Resume of Remontoires".

The company continued to supply marine chronometers for the Greenwich Chronometer Trials, achieving considerable success. Between 1831 and 1920, the British Admiralty acquired sixty marine chronometers from Charles Frodsham, as well as a number of pocket chronometers and deck watches, including the remarkable watch of Ruth Belville, the "Greenwich Time Lady," which is now part of the Lord Harris Collection at Belmont.

Precise timekeeping

In the second half of the 19th century, the company supplied sidereal regulators for newly built observatories worldwide, particularly in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne), Italy (Padua, Palermo and Naples) and the USA (Harvard and Lick).

The Charles Frodsham Tourbillon No. 09182 (now in the Lord Harris Collection at Belmont), with 93.9 points, holds the record for the highest score ever achieved by an English clock at Kew Observatory. Such clocks were engraved with the letters AD. Fmsz. This cryptogram, for the year 1850, is composed of the numerical sequence of letters for "Frodsham" supplemented by a Z for zero, and was used by the company from that date onward to denote first-class quality.

Source: AI, Wikipedia