Horloge van goud c. 1750 - 1800

This gold watch was made by Allen Walker and although undated, it speaks volumes about its historical moment. A personal item fashioned from precious metal suggests a society that has generated a surplus of wealth. It indicates the rise of a leisured class with money to spend on personal adornment and the means to manage their own time. Before the standardization of time and widespread public clocks, time was a more localized phenomenon. The wealthy would have been among the first to demand portable personal timepieces to coordinate travel and business. Such a piece also hints at new forms of social interaction. Careful study of business records and tax documents would tell us more about Walker himself and the clientele he served. The watch’s design could also reveal the particular tastes and styles of the period. The cultural and institutional history of timekeeping opens a window onto a lost world.