A mid 17th century silver memento mori watch in the form of a skull with a hinged articulated jaw and suspension ring.
It comprises a private collection of 80 watches and the portable table clocks and timekeepers that were their precursors spanning 500 years, ranging in date from the late middle ages through to the early 20th century and catalogued in chronological order.
Featured among the early pocket watches is this mid 17th century silver memento mori watch in the form of a skull with a hinged articulated jaw and suspension ring.
Watches of memento mori form (translating as ‘remember you will die’) became popular in the Puritan Calvinist era of the 17th century, particularly in Geneva, and they were fashionable among Puritans in Switzerland and in England. Aguttes’ unsigned example, which measures 1in (2.5cm) in height and just over 1¾in (4cm) in length, has a silvered dial with roman numerals and a key wound mechanical movement with a verge escapement.
It is estimated at €6000-8000.
