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A very rare telegrapher's large time code watch with protective boxSwiss, signed Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. Ltd., early 20th century image 1
A very rare telegrapher's large time code watch with protective boxSwiss, signed Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. Ltd., early 20th century image 2
A very rare telegrapher's large time code watch with protective boxSwiss, signed Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. Ltd., early 20th century image 3
Lot 1166

A very rare telegrapher's large time code watch with protective box
Swiss, signed Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. Ltd., early 20th century

26 October 2015, 10:00 EDT
New York

Sold for US$1,875 inc. premium

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A very rare telegrapher's large time code watch with protective box

Swiss, signed Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. Ltd., early 20th century
Gilt keyless lever movement jeweled to the center, bimetallic balance, polished overcoiled spring, pendant set, the unique white enamel dial with roman chapters aligned with an inner ring of red letters A-M representing the hours 1:00 am to noon and an outer ring N-Z representing 1:00pm to midnight, the minutes in each five minute interval labeled, R, S, W, X, blued steel hands, brass case with winding crown without bow, with original fitted two tier mahogany box with brass plaque engraved "Marconi W. T. Co., Ltd.", with a further plaque with number 24, accompanied by an extensive archive of correspondence relating to the origins and use of the watch.
65mm diam. of watch

Footnotes

Research by Ted Denton revealed only a few examples of this curious watch. The dial was apparently first designed by a British postmaster, Hill in the 1880's in an attempt to simplify transmitting time in Morse code, when using a coded sequence of letters to represent numerals.

The watch is designed to directly read the letter code from the timepiece. For example, if the letter "B" designates 2:00, then the letters "B F" represent 2:30 and, for one minute intervals, the sequence "B F S" means 2:32.

Never adopted, it is not known how the Marconi Company learned of the dial, suggesting the surviving examples may have been prototypes in an unsuccessful experiment.

Additional information

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