Silver-Fronted Leather Desk Set with Goliath Watch and Barometer, 1902

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A shaped sterling silver fascia encases this desk companion, framing a large goliath pocket watch, an aneroid barometer, and a … Read more A shaped sterling silver fascia encases this desk companion, framing a large goliath pocket watch, an aneroid barometer, and a central mercury thermometer. Bound in dark morocco leather with an integral easel strut to the reverse, the folding stand opens on brass hinges to reveal a rich green velvet interior tailored to hold both circular instruments securely. The substantial open-face goliath watch measures 66 mm in diameter and features a white enamel dial with bold black Roman numerals, an outer minute track, and a subsidiary seconds dial at six o'clock, swept by blued steel hands. Within its plain nickel-plated brass case is a keyless gilt bar movement powered by a going barrel, fitted with a club-foot lever escapement, an uncut bimetallic balance, and a polished steel index regulator over a plain cock. Balancing the watch on the left, the aneroid barometer is housed in a matching nickel casing. Its clean white enamel dial is calibrated in inches of mercury and inscribed with traditional meteorological observations alongside the notation 'Made in London'. A slender blued indicator is paired with an external brass pointer set into the milled rotating bezel for tracking pressure changes. Between the dials, a mercury thermometer mounted against an engraved register provides clear ambient temperature readings. The silver front plate displays English hallmarks struck in Birmingham for the year 1902. Popularised at the turn of the twentieth century as functional luxury accoutrements for study tables and dressing rooms, these comprehensive meteorological and timekeeping sets offered reliable everyday utility within an elegant presentation case. See less