Too many watches? This one is intriguing. A California collector sent us this 300-yearold watch by Charles Goode, from Dublin and London circa 1669. Goode was one of horology’s greatest innovators, along with Tompion.
The path from colonial Georgia to California is interesting. This Early American interest watch is huge with
two cases of 22 karat gold. The gold alone is worth over $6,500. The movement is a complicated repeater, loudly ringing out the time with the push of a plunger. The casemaker, Richard Blundell, exacted stunning repousée and piercing, depicting the lord and lady of the manor (owners of the watch) and various cherubs and a grotesque “green man,” common symbols in the late 17th century depicting rebirth and change.
The condition of the watch is remarkable. The soft 22 karat gold has no dents, and the watch keeps time within 25 minutes per day with a crude chain-driven movement. The family provenance is also remarkable. Each owner’s name was engraved on the inner case starting with Margaret Lincoln, born in Ireland, who settled in colonial America in the mid 1700s; to her daughter Mary Ann Belinda O’Keefe
White, who lived in Georgia (pictured here); to daughter Eliza Parsons White Poe, born1805; to daughter Mary White Poe Bixby of Georgia, circa 1850; who left it to her son Robert Forsyth Bixby, born in Georgia, who made his fortune in New York City, owning the Casino Theatre. He left his entire estate to his sister Grace Sterling Bixby, who married Count Mankowski. She left her estate to the last name on the watch, her son, Count Robert, who passed away in California in 1947.
And that, dear reader, is how a Californian collector acquired this extraordinary watch. We paid $9,000
and hope to achieve $10,000–$15,000.
We pay more for gold & silver than anyone in Tampa Bay!
Go ahead, Google us! We don’t just buy museum pieces.
We are one of the nation’s top buyers; we will meet you at
your home, our store, your bank or your attorney’s office.
