Dutch marine chronometer Andreas Hohwu Amsterdam, No. 42., c. 1870.

The movement is contained in a gimballed brass bowl, which can be locked from the side by a slide and is accompanied by a Breguet key.

The silvered brass dial is of traditional design, with central Roman chapter ring, and up-and-down dial above the middle, indicating the state of winding and below a second ring, both with blued steel hands, the time is indicated by two gold hands.

The two-day duration movement has Earnshaw spring-detent escapement with a bimetallic.

Sizes of the wooden box 160/160/178 mm.

The dial diameter is 90 mm.

Andreas Hohwü

Without a doubt Andreas Hohwü was the best chronometer maker Holland has ever had. He was born in Gravenstein (Sleswig-Holstein) in 1803 as the son of Thomas Hohwü a regular clockmaker. He was apprenticed to his father and showed great promise which enabled him to become a student of the famous chronometer maker Kessels in Altona in 1829. Because of his progress he was allowed to go to work and learn at the famous house of Breguet in 1835 where he worked until 1839. In 1840 he started a business under his own name at the Oudeschans Amsterdam. Besides chronometers he also made many precision regulators that were mostly shipped to observatories all over the world. He designed the propulsion of the coastal light houses. After long study he designed and patented a secondary compensation for middle temperature error. He was awarded by the government with the Knight in the Order of the Oak Crown’ and Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion’. Internationally he received the Knight Order of Italy’ and the honorary diploma of Vienna’. He also won awards at internaional exhibitions. Andreas Hohwü died in 1885. Lit.; Enrico Morpurgo, Nederlandse Klokken- en horlogemakers vanaf 1300, pp. 59.