Rebecca Struthers, Unravelling the myth of the ‘Dutch forgery’

[Bernhard J.]

This is a very interesting PhD thesis. I recently worked it through. It does, however, leave some questions to me.

One point is that it is believed that most of the "Dutch forgeries" originated from Switzerland. The annual output is believed to amount up about 40,000, compared with the contemporary output from London of about 1,500.

First, I wonder whether the English producers for the Dutch market might have been disregarded. For example, John Markham (not to be confused with the well known Roger Markham) was active about 1760 to 1780 and it is known that most of the watches produced by him (or his workshop) were made for export to the Dutch market and, accordingly, had the Dutch balance bridge and arcaded dials. So, a John Markham watch like this one



would seem to be genuine English make and neither a forgery from Holland nor from Switzerland.

Another point, which makes me wonder, is that Holland must have been flooded by watches, if indeed 40,000 per year had been made specifically for the Dutch market (i.e. with the specific Dutch balance bridge and arcaded dial) by the Swiss. Was this indeed such a huge market in the second half of the 18th century that it would readily absorb such large quantities? I tend to doubt this, even if you add Belgium.

And would not e.g. France have been a much more interesting (and larger) market for Swiss forgeries, wherein one would then expect rather the French balance bridge than a Dutch balance bridge (both differing substantially in style).

What do you think?

Cheers, Bernhard

 

[John Matthews]

Another point, which makes me wonder, is that Holland must have been flooded by watches, if indeed 40,000 per year had been made specifically for the Dutch market (i.e. with the specific Dutch balance bridge and arcaded dial) by the Swiss. Was this indeed such a huge market in the second half of the 18th century that it would readily absorb such large quantities? I tend to doubt this, even if you add Belgium.

I don't believe anyone has ever suggested that these watches were destined to remain in Holland or indeed immediately adjacent countries.

John

 

[Bernhard J.]

But why would these then have been made in "Dutch style", which is quite distinct? I would not think that Dutch watches were generally considered superior over all others back then.

If watches had been faked by the Swiss for other markets, would these watches not try to imitate the styles in the target markets? Swiss fakes for e.g. the English market did not have balance bridges, but cocks.

What do you think were the target markets for the "Dutch forgeries" with Dutch style movement and dial?

Best regards, Bernhard

 

[Dr. Jon]

I beleive the target market was England.


Here is her talk on this at the NY Horological Society

 

[John Matthews]

I prepared this a few days ago, before Jon posted the above and forgot to post.

My understanding/logic - which may not be correct!​

​

The Dutch traders were very active and they traded not only in Europe, but also in Russia and the Far East. I suspect they sold small numbers of Dutch made watches, and established a 'brand'. Then in order to satisfy demand which exceed their local supply of relatively cheap watches, from which they could make good profit, they looked to other suppliers. Some of these were in England (unscrupulous - some would be to provide a cheap product avoiding the law) others from Switzerland/France.​

I do not believe the majority were intended for England. My impression is that there is one type that closely followed the English style, e.g. have cocks rather than bridges and a dial in the English style for the period. These I feel were more likely intended for the markets into which English watches were being sold. Some of these probably found there way to England and are described as the relatively cheap products referenced in the Parliamentary Reports. For those in a a Continental style, I believe those were as I describe paragraph above. I suspect the addition of a London signature on such watches was simply a marketing ploy being used in a market that was unfamiliar with characteristics of the English style.

Any analysis that concludes that these watches were of a single type and intended for a single market, is in my opinion, flawed.

John

 

[Dr. Jon]

I have too little knowedge in this area for a credible comment. I believe I got the idea that England was the intended market from the talk I referenced but it was some time ago.

 

[Rich Newman]

Unfortunate that the term "Dutch Forgery" originated with the wrong assumption decades ago that they were made in The Netherlands, I think that was primarily because of the arcade style of many of the dials. However, we now know that they were made in Switzerland. So, I'm thinking about profit which often helps explain most everything, even in watchmaking, and here's my 2 cents worth.

1) An enormous number of these watches were made for export but most do not survive to this day because they were never meant to be great quality and wore out. I've also never seen one with a solid gold case, so I'm thinking they were the least cost watch in the shops that offered them. All this infers that they were made to take advantage of the growing middle class who didn't have much money to spend on a watch but wanted one.
2) I think they primarily went to England and also to America. America, in particular, was the fastest growing population and wealth anywhere in the world. I observe that many are still found in England and America.
3) Seems that retailers with the right connections were more than happy to import these watches even though they had fake names (almost like a model number) engraved. No doubt profit margin was significantly higher than sourcing watches made in England. And, we know that competition toward the end of the century was fierce. Many retailers at this time made their living primarily from repairs, not from selling new watches. We also know that retailers in America by 1800 we're even having a hard time making money with repairs because the market was being flooded with cheap new watches. Many went out of business. Could it be that these "Dutch Fakes" were the culprit or significantly contributed? BTW, I also note that poor quality English-made watches were also flooding the American market by the mid - 1790's.
3) I also find it interesting that these things basically disappear with the take over of Lever escapement watches. How is it that the Swiss for some reason couldn't adapt to supply lever watches? Was it that their retail network fell apart (went out of business), or buyers became more sophisticated, or efficiencies out of Liverpool makers + the Lever just took over.

 

[Bernhard J.]

But that still leaves the question, why customers in England or America apparently favored the Dutch style dial and balance bridge. Why would these sell better than e.g. the "classic" Swiss style of dials and balance bridges? Did Dutch watches back then have a reputation, which was superior e.g. to English style watches, which the Swiss could have made (and did make) just as well?

 

[gmorse]

Hi Bernhard,

I have the impression that these watches were mostly aimed at customers outside the UK who would be impressed by an apparently English signature because of the high reputation of English work, regardless of any stylistic subtleties.

Regards,

Graham

 

[Bernhard J.]

But still, why specifically Dutch balance bridge instead of Swiss balance bridge (and dial)? If the Dutch had produced the forgeries, this would be understandable. But this was apparently not so.

Why would someone in country A produce a watch not in the style of country A, but of country B, add a signature of country C, all this in order to deceive customers in country D?

 

[gmorse]

Hi Bernhard,

But still, why specifically Dutch balance bridge instead of Swiss balance bridge (and dial)? If the Dutch had produced the forgeries, this would be understandable. But this was apparently not so.

The Swiss producing these pieces were apparently perfectly capable of making any style for any market, so one possibility is that these 'Dutch' watches were built specifically for that market, although they've ended up all over the world in the course of trade and travel. Their output aimed at other markets may not be so readily identified since the Dutch style was so distinctive.

Regards,

Graham

 

[John Matthews]

I agree with Rich that the use of the term "Dutch Forgery" is the root of significant confusion. The main issue is that it has caused undue significance to be placed upon those watches that have the so called 'Dutch characteristics' when researching the practice of producing 'cheap' watches designed to appear what they are not, in order to maximise profit.

This is why I said ...

Any analysis that concludes that these watches were of a single type and intended for a single market, is in my opinion, flawed.

I think there were many markets and that the watches that were produced had designs that would appeal to those markets. For me the real question is who were the 'agents' who were driving the manufacture. The analysis of the watches found in the wreak of the St Mikael that was sailing from Amsterdam to St Petersburg in 1747, caused Albin Schaeder who did the analysis to ask the question ..

'Was watch manufacturing in the hands of the merchants who knew what would sell best?​

My answer is a resounding yes. When the Dutch were a dominant trading nation, their merchants were influential.

The Dutch traders were very active and they traded not only in Europe, but also in Russia and the Far East. I suspect they sold small numbers of Dutch made watches, and established a 'brand'. Then in order to satisfy demand which exceed their local supply of relatively cheap watches, from which they could make good profit, they looked to other suppliers. Some of these were in England (unscrupulous - some would be to provide a cheap product avoiding the law) others from Switzerland/France.

For the early trade I should also have included Germany as a supplier.

John

 

[Bernhard J.]

gmorse Is there any information at all about numbers of Swiss forgeries specifically made in the English style? Thinking in numbers of potential costumers in a target country, might this number be by far higher than the number of Swiss forgeries made in the Dutch style? Might there be a large dark area of watches looking like English watches but in fact being Swiss forgeries (and not identified as Swiss forgeries until today?)?

John Matthews The merchants hypothesis does not seem logical to me at least in case of the English market, because this would mean that Dutch merchants believed that Dutch style watches sell best in England. Is this likely? The hypothesis might, in contrast, hold in other target markets than France, England, Germany and perhaps America. As e.g. in the Russian market.

 

[gmorse]

Hi Bernhard,

Is there any information at all about numbers of Swiss forgeries specifically made in the English style?

I'm not aware of numbers, indeed, I have a suspicion that there are watches currently identified as English but are actually Swiss products. Some I've seen are very plausible and detailed counterfeits. The practice of placing vendors' signatures instead of makers' on English watches could have contributed to the mis-attributions; if owners failed to find a record of a signature, they would likely just shrug their shoulders. Also, some of the known non-existent spurious 'makers' are recorded in the references as working in London.

Regards,

Graham

 

[John Matthews]

The merchants hypothesis does not seem logical to me at least in case of the English market, because this would mean that Dutch merchants believed that Dutch style watches sell best in England. Is this likely? The hypothesis might, in contrast, hold in other target markets than France, England, Germany and perhaps America. As e.g. in the Russian market.

Where did I say that the Dutch merchants were targeting England with Dutch style watches?

I believe that the trade in this type of watch was driven by merchants or dealers who identified a market that they could exploit and sourced products to satisfy what they believed would sell in that market at a profit. As I said many markets and many products. I would draw a parallel with the activities of the like of Stuart & Russell sourcing Tobias signed movements from the Coventry manufacturers to export to America and sell on the cheap in New York.

There were a limited number of cheap Dutch style watches sold in London as is documented in the Parliamentary Reports. Some of those style watches were probably being made in London and a portion of these would probably be offered locally at a cheap price.

As I said ...

I do not believe the majority were intended for England. My impression is that there is one type that closely followed the English style, e.g. have cocks rather than bridges and a dial in the English style for the period. These I feel were more likely intended for the markets into which English watches were being sold. Some of these probably found there way to England and are described as the relatively cheap products referenced in the Parliamentary Reports. For those in a a Continental style, I believe those were as I describe paragraph above. I suspect the addition of a London signature on such watches was simply a marketing ploy being used in a market that was unfamiliar with characteristics of the English style.

John

 

[Bernhard J.]

I agree, but wonder if other target markets than France, England, Germany and perhaps America (i.e. excluding these) would indeed have taken the huge numbers estimated by Rebecca Struthers? Compare with the output of English makers in the same period?

.

 

[John Matthews]

I do not recollect the numbers that Struthers quoted. All I would say is that I would wish to check the source data and assumptions made, to assess those figures, before drawing any conclusions.

John

 

[Dr. Jon]

I suggest the issue was price and profit.

I do not think style mattered to these buyers. If you check in Youtubes and boards on contemporary watches you will see rampant ignorance even in blogs and videos about very expensive items.

People with new wealth enough to buy a watch who found one that seemed to work at a price bought it. This is peole who came into money in teh new middle class. They had some omeny to buy an inexpensive watch but neither the time nor money to become connoisseurs. The Dutch sold what they had and the locals in this new class bought them.

If you had not noticed, with my self as an exception, the level of expertise in these forums is off the charts high.

It did not exist in the customer base in the era of these Dutch watches.

 

[Bernhard J.]

So the Dutch merchants simply ordered "Dutch style" from the Swiss for distribution in any country, because they personally preferred that style (and the targeted customers did not know anyway)? If I were a Swiss maker, I would have charged them extra for such "special request" instead of taking the standard Swiss style . As a merchant I would have made such decision only, if Dutch watches had had an at least well international reputation, visualised by the Dutch style (which implies that the targeted customers did notice).

 

[John Matthews]

One point is that it is believed that most of the "Dutch forgeries" originated from Switzerland. The annual output is believed to amount up about 40,000, compared with the contemporary output from London of about 1,500.

Bernard

I have read Struther's PhD a number of times and I find each time it leaves me with more questions than answers. I have some academic colleagues who would say that is the mark of a good PhD.

The research consists of a literature review as the background to identifying 156 so called 'Dutch Forgeries' of which 40% were examined and ~30 were selected using strict criteria, for detailed study.

Within the literature survey, the 40,000 you quote is not specific to the Dutch trade (you don't explicitly say it is), and definitely not to be thought of as the number of movements that were the basis of what have previously been described as Dutch Forgeries. This is the quote ...

​

In 1793, according to the account of Monsieur Marius Fallet, the firm of Japy in Neuchâtel supplied 'not less than 40,000 movements for the manufacturers of the Mountains'​

I think it is worth saying that while the literature was extensive and explored social and economic factors in detail, the cohort of examples was, understandably, restricted. It drew heavily on the Iibert collection of the BM. Furthermore the case study group were predominantly from that collection.

The watches that the research analysed in detail were selected according to the following 'indicators':

• conclusive indicator
  • the declaration of false national origin (none are signed with the true location of origin;
• non-conclusive indicators
  1. Dutch-style arcaded dial
  2. Dutch-style balance bridge
  3. Dutch import marks;
  4. fake or spurious English hallmarks;
  5. plate marks that link to a known Dutch Forgery;
  6. unknown or unrecorded maker;
  7. low quality of workmanship.
• Absolute requirement
  • signed as made in an English city
  • with Dutch style dial and/or balance bridge

Watches that were signed and with both the Dutch dial and bridge were included, if only the dial or bridge, 3 of the other 5 non-conclusive indicators had to be present (#3 to#7).

My understanding is that these are the strict identifiers that the research used to define the watches that have been rather loosely describes as 'Dutch Forgeries'.

this study concludes that there was nowhere else in Europe at the time with the capacity to manufacture the sheer volume of low-value watches seen in the trade of Dutch forgeries.​

The conclusion drawn I believe specifically relates to those watches that are defined according to the identifiers listed. I personally believe that it would be preferable to replace watches with movements as I remain uncertain as to the proportion of the trade that started its journey down the Rhine, consisted of finished and cased watches.

John

 

[Bernhard J.]

Within the literature survey, the 40,000 you quote is not specific to the Dutch trade (you don't explicitly say it is), and definitely not to be thought of as the number of movements that were the basis of what have previously been described as Dutch Forgeries. This is the quote ...

​

In 1793, according to the account of Monsieur Marius Fallet, the firm of Japy in Neuchâtel supplied 'not less than 40,000 movements for the manufacturers of the Mountains'​

Hi John,

I admit having read it once only. I instead listened to the speach several times, because the contents seemed somewhat "condensed". And I believe to recall (I might be wrong though and need to check that next weekend) that she suggested this number in the context of Dutch forgeries. And that really had made me wonder. I would be happy to learn that this was a misunderstanding from my side (as your quote from the thesis seems to demonstrate).

Best regards, Bernhard

 

[Bernhard J.]

By accident I noticed that apparently even another style, a "Nordic style" was made by the Swiss and presumably distributed to Nordic countries. That does, again, raise the question, whether the styles were at least to some account specifically made for target markets.

Presently this watch is on offer:
WALLERIUS I NORRKÖPING , verge fusee, ca 1800 - (running) #22-38.01 | eBay

A nearly identical watch in similar condition was in this auction. The auctioneer explicitely pointed out that it presumably is a Swiss forgery.
https://auctionet.com/de/1076061-spinde ... hrhunderts

A third and again nearly identical (somewhat better condition) was in this auction
Wallerius i. Norrköping - Schmuck und Uhren 27.05.2021 - Erzielter Preis: EUR 260 - Dorotheum

Or here:

POCKET WATCH, 61,4 mm, signed "Wallerius i Norrköping", - Bukowskis

Bukowskis auctions

www.bukowskis.com

And even another one:

Wallerius Norrköping - Verge fusee pocket watch - Men - Earlier than 1850

Old XL 63 mm diameter verge fusee pocket watch by Wallerius, Norrköping (Sweden) This watch is in good working order. Fully taken apart and cleaned. It's big sized case is in good condition, with only very small visible marks of the last 150-200 years, numbered 1320. The bulls eye crystal is...

www.catawiki.com

Compare the balance bridges having a distinct style being different from the English, French, or Dutch styles. The fantasy signature (faking Erik Wellenius) being always the same.

And see also here:

A fake fake......

Hello, I just wanted to share this: "Wallerius i Norrköping" probably rings a bell for many collectors of old verge fusee watches. Norrköping is a town in the central part of Sweden and according to most sources there never was a watchmaker with that name working there. Nevertheless there...

mb.nawcc.org

 

[John Matthews]

Bernard

Struthers describes the distribution of forgeries to countries other than England, including Sweden if memory serves. I am confident that the forgeries where finished in a manner that reflected their target market. I think as I said in post #12 I do believe that the merchants understood their markets and they controlled the trade. Although Struthers deliberately selected movements with English signatures for detailed analysis, the scope of her analysis includes other markets. However, because as I said earlier, the samples she ’identified’ did not encompass the breadth of the forgeries that were involved in the trade.

John

 

[John Matthews]

Bernard

Strutters discusses Swedish forgeries and refers specifically to

KRAMINER, J. Swedish Forgeries. Antiquarian Horology. Vol. 29 No. 03, p. 330 specifically suggests that 'Swedish forgeries' were being manufactured in the Jura.​

​

Actually Kraminer says 'These watches were made either in Switzerland or possibly in the French Jura.'

​

That paper includes ...

​

The Swedish market during the period under discussion was large - Norway, Finland, areas of the Baltic and even some of the north German ports, such as Stettin and Stralsund were, for a considerable time, part of Sweden. It must have been both an interesting and profitable business opportunity for French or Swiss watch merchants.​

​

and​

​

WATCHES SIGNED Wailerius i Norrkdping​

These watches can be dated to the beginning of the nineteenth century and are those found most frequently today. Occasionally watches signed Wailerius i Norrkdping come to light. There as no watchmaker 'Wailerius in Norrkdping'.​

Furthermore the '/" for 'in' (corresponding to the French a) does not appear in the signatures of authentic Swedish watches. Most of the forgeries are housed in base metal cases; those in silver cases have spurious hallmarks inside​

the rear covers which simulate Swedish silver marks. The majority of them are large (55-65mm dia.) in accordance with Swedish taste. The white enamel dials have either Roman or radial Arabic hour numerals which was common practice in Sweden at that time. The hands are mostly brass, moulded in the Louis XV style, and similar to those used in later Swiss farmers' watches. ......​

​

and (in full) the conclusion of Struthers Chapter 7.

The evidence found by this research demonstrates beyond reasonable doubt that Dutch forgeries made on the Swiss/French border were being manufactured to satisfy the orders of Dutch merchants who were then transporting these watches along the Rhine River back to Holland. Some of these watches remained for the Dutch market where they were declared for import hallmarks, paid their duty and were legally retailed. Others made their way to England, Sweden and the rest of the world and of these many were either smuggled or imported in part and paired with genuinely hallmarked cases in the destination country.​

​

John

 

[astonvilla]

Many good questions by Bernard .
A lot of guessing and not a very credible story here . She is speaking about Japy in Neuchatel , a company that later would become Fointainmelon . There were no Japy in Neuchatel which made ebauches/raw movements . There were Japy Freres in La Chaux de Fonds , but they made clocks and watches , not ebauches . But in Besancon in france there were large supplier of ebauches with the name of Japy . So Japy was not the factory that later would be Fontainmelon . Isaac and David Benquerel-dit-Perrenoud together with Julien and Francois Humert-Droz was the persons who startet up the company that later would be Fontainmelon.
To investigate where these watches came from, I think one need to know how they were produced. And one significant part in making a watch is the Ebauche. The ebauche consisted of two plates with pillars and bars , the barrel, fusee , index , pawl and ratchet wheel and screws. They were made by watchmakers who spesialized in making ebauches. These ebauches were sold to different makers, and because of this watches by two different makers would look almost identical .
Miss Struthers speaks about the letters inscribed on the plates , made by the " plate-makers " as she calls them . These letters are of course from the ebauche makers .So I am not sure if she really knows what a ebauche is.
These watches are called "dutch forgeries " because they were made with dutch ebauches . They were obviously cheaper than english ebauches , and therefor preffered by som makers to cut costs in a difficult economic time .
If some wanted to make forgeries of english watches , they would of course not use a dutch ebauches with a balance bridge . they would use a ebauche with a balance cock.
These watches are definitly not swiss .
H Sandstrom

 

[astonvilla]

Watched the story one more time , and she actually mentioned Fontainmelon being a different firm . But Japy is french , not swiss.

 

[Bernhard J.]

These watches are called "dutch forgeries " because they were made with dutch ebauches

Hi Hakon,

Although this seems quite plausible, I still wonder about two things.

First, who were the Dutch ebauche makers, capable of such high outputs? I am wondering about this, because rather few "real" Dutch watches (i.e. with Dutch signatures) seem to have survived, a rather rare example being my watch signed Hermanus Caspari, Leiden, whereas the "Dutch forgeries" seem to have survived in masses and consequently will likely (?) have been produced in masses.

Second, would you think that e.g. Roger Markham used English or Dutch ebauches? I would find it amazing, if he had imported Dutch ebauches, finished them in London and then exported the finished watches to Holland again. That would not seem all too cost effective.

For example, John Markham (not to be confused with the well known Roger Markham) was active about 1760 to 1780 and it is known that most of the watches produced by him (or his workshop) were made for export to the Dutch market and, accordingly, had the Dutch balance bridge and arcaded dials. So, a John Markham watch like this one



would seem to be genuine English make and neither a forgery from Holland nor from Switzerland.

Cheers, Bernhard

 

[John Matthews]

Watched the story one more time , and she actually mentioned Fontainmelon being a different firm . But Japy is french , not swiss.

Astonvilla is absolutely correct.

Struther's PhD p. 268 is a misquote - compare source Jaquet & Chapuis p.79

See How Tiny Fontainemelon Dominated Swiss Watchmaking in the 19th Century

John

 

[astonvilla]

I do not know the names of these dutch ebauche makers . I also do not know the outputs for these dutch ebauches.
From where do you have the information that John Markham exported watches to Holland ? Has many of his watches been found in Holland ? Or perhaps some "expert" recognised them having dutch movements and therefor concluded they were made for the dutch market ? I agree with you that this would not be cost effective because of import duties. It depends on if his watches were brougt to Holland by himself , or if they were sold to Dutch merchants in England .
From what I have read , Import duties were high in the 18 century . So when importing watches and parts into england , duty tax would have taken away much of the profitt . Since these watches are believed to be a part of illegal trade , it is very likely that they came to england illegaly . Smuggling was a big problem for England during the 18 century , as a result of the high customs duties .
Please share a photo of your watch by Hermanus Caspari

Introduction to Britain's smuggling history

A short introduction to the history of smuggling, from Smugglers' Britain

www.smuggling.co.uk

https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1116&context=irj

H S.

 

[astonvilla]

Are there english hallmarks inside the case of these " John Markham " watches ?

 

[Bernhard J.]

Hi Hakon,

The watch that I showed was presented to me by a fellow some time ago with the question fake or not. It has London hall marks and matching numbers. Another one of the same kind can be seen here.

www.cogsandpieces.com/pocket-watch-0263/

The information about John Markham being known to produce mainly for the Dutch market came from this website. One needs to purchase a days pass for access to the detailed information.

Clock and Watch Research - Online Library - Index of clock and watch makers listed on the website with surnames starting with the letter M

clock and watch makers that are catalogued on our web site with surnames starting with the letter M.

www.clockswatches.co.uk

Happy New Year,
Bernhard

 

[astonvilla]

Hello Bernard .
Yes you are correct . John Markham was one of those who produced watches for the Dutch marked . The movement was made with a dutch ebauche ( or a ebauche made to look like a dutch movement ). Found this book about dutch makers . It is a old book written by Nanne Ottema called " Uurwerkmakerkunst in Friesland " published in 1948 . Some intersting reading here . It is in dutch , but you can read it by using google translate ( copy & paste). ( Friesland was a part of Holland near Heerenveen where many watchmakers were located)

https://www.oks.nl/storage/app/media/fulltext/064_OttemaN_GeschiedenisUurwerkmakerskunstFriesland1948.pdf

He writes " Frisian and Dutch watchmakers continued to manufacture these timepieces themselves at first, but in the course of the 18th century we see here the English imports become predominant. " So here is another story . While we today believe that the dutch flooded england with watches , here is a story about English made watches flooding Holland ,making the dutch watcmaking industry struggle .
I have spent some time reading about English and Dutch customs duty during the 18 th century . I think that is someting Rebecca Strutters should have looked into.
Importing goods into England in the 18 th century was very expensive - for example ,until 1784 the duty on tea was 119 % . I have not been able to find how much the duty was on watches and parts , but for sure it must have been high too.
Importing goods into Holland in the 18 th century was much cheaper . At this time they did not have the same customs system as england . The marchants paid a fee to the dutch navy who protected them against pirates . I have not found out how much in % this was . But when English watchmaker choose to export their watches to Holland , I am sure they did not pay a high price . In 1795 France invaded Holland . Eventually importing goods from England became more difficult and " In 1806 Napoleon banned all trade with England. This economic blockade lasted from 1806 to 1814. All products from England were banned. The intention of this measure was to disrupt the economy of the United Kingdom."
So after reading this , I do not think the ebauches came to John Markham from Holland . The customs duty for these ebauches would have made these parts too expensive. And I agree with you that it would be a comlicated way to produce a watch - to get the ebauce from Holland , making it into a watch and returning it to Holland again . So I think it is more likely that the ebauches he used were made in England. According to David Penney " English watch manufacturing was split into at least forty separate specialist trades at this time, around 50% who were involved in the manufacture of rough movements, which the Swiss/French called an ebauche "
Why would you go to Holland to buy ebauches when you have the largest watch industry in the world (at the time) in you own country? If some english watchmaker wanted dutch looking ebauches , I am sure the ebauchemakers in england could provide them .
Another interesting note in the book by Nanne Ottema " In the early 18 century London watchmaker Christophe Pinchbeck invented a metal alloy used for counterfeit gold watch cases.In the 18th century we see the mention of Pinsbekke, Pensbecquen or Pendsbeke watches. "
Ottema also mentions that in England there were listed (in Britten ) around 12000 watchmakers (1932 ), and in Holland around 1000 watchmakers .
The only countries that has the capasity to produce so many watches are England and Switzerland . Beacuse of the high customs duty , it can only be England .
H S

 

[Bernhard J.]

Please share a photo of your watch by Hermanus Caspari

Here it is. I dare to say, second to none quality of workmanship, also compared with best English makes.