A Visit to Charles Frodsham

In a shot, I asked: “Is that a Frodsham?” to which he replied, “Yes”. I glanced again and suddenly had a flicker of recognition, “Are you Frodsham?” he smiled and concurred. I had just met Richard Stenning, watchmaker and auctioneer turned watch company owner and one half of the modern Charles Frodsham brand (Philip Whyte, the other director is a somewhat more elusive character with whom I have conversed on a couple of occasions). Richard briefly challenged me to capture the colour of the numerals on the dial of his prototype and I duly obliged.

Richard Stenning and I subsequently made an arrangement to meet at the showroom in Mayfair a few days later and what follows is a series of photographs and commentaries following our lengthy conversation. Much of the material I gathered was posted on Instagram over a week’s worth of posts in November. Richard and I discussed the postings that were planned and he corrected any lapses in my memory. It was arguably the most detail I’ve gone into on any brand or watch and it was more than helpful to have had his input. Not only did it prevent egregious errors, but it also meant that privileged information was not disclosed publicly. I have of course expressed my gratitude for the access afforded me on many occasions, normally over a drink or a meal. And full disclosure: Richard took my wife and me out for a meal a little while ago to thank me for the attention I gave the brand; he's a true gentleman and now purveyor of one of the finest time only watches in production today. 

Double impulse chronometer in 22k hard rolled yellow gold; Sandvik Sanmac 316L steel; and hard rolled 18k rose gold

The most appropriate way to sum up the Frodsham double impulse chronometer wristwatch is with the following idiom: the devil is in the details. Let’s begin with the strap. Frodsham uses a most novel way to deboss the underside of their watchstraps. The sponsor's mark (also known as the maker's mark) was last used on a Charles Frodsham Wristwatch, hallmarked at Goldsmiths’ in 1937. The same Sponsor's mark is also visible on the underside of the bottom left lug of each watch including the steel cased option. 

Reimagining the traditional watch dial. Antique enamel dials, whilst beautiful, are prone to damage and hairline cracking. Frodsham uses a combination of zirconium oxide dials and vapour deposition to achieve a visual look not dissimilar to that of an antique enamel dialled pocket watch. The main difference is longevity of materials. The dial is formed from 2 ceramic plates to allow for the large diameter sunken seconds, each dial plate is 0.45mm thick, (lapped from 1mm), giving a total thickness of 0.9mm. Each plate is first frosted, before the vapour deposition process takes place. The process of vapour deposition is carried out by a British company that specialises in the manufacture of microscope products for the medical industry. Frodsham, unsurprisingly, is their only horological client. The thinnest line visible on any of  the dials is a mere 13 microns wide and forms part of the cypher, or medallion, on the heritage dial. Frodsham here referencing their past accolades: suppliers of marine Chronometers to the British navy (amongst many others) represented by the British Admiralty Foul Anchor and a past gold medal won in Paris.

Case materials: The cases may look ordinary, and they are notable for their exceptional finishing, but there is more to them than meets the eye. 22k (916) yellow gold, was the standard for gold cases up until 1797/8 and notably used for discerning clients by watchmakers like Mudge for the King of Spain, for example. It may seem like an unusual choice for a modern watch, as it is generally softer and susceptible to dents and scratches. Frodsham were keen to use 22k (the watch on the left of the image below) because of its warmer hue and soon established that it could be hard rolled to match the durability of 18k. The other gold case that I viewed was made from 18k hard rolled rose gold (to the right of the image below): the contrast between the case and the annealed steel numerals is striking and can be seen in the second image. (There is a white gold option without rhodium plating so the brushed finish of the case looks more like steel than gold).

For their steel cases they use Sandvik Sanmac 316L steel (seen below along side the 18k rose gold case and above in the first image), which is a molybdenum-alloyed austenitic chromium-nickel steel with improved machinability. The grade is used for a wide range of industrial applications where steels of types ASTM 304/304L have insufficient corrosion resistance. It is also very resistant to intergranular depletion due to a low carbon content; a weakness where the surface of the metal is susceptible to damage due to a vulnerability of the corrosion-inhibiting element of the alloy. Sanmac is normally used for commercial pump and valve components. This is no ordinary steel and the full spec list is frightening.

 

And finally some thoughts on the movement. It is the culmination of a decade-and-a-half of 'tinkering' (my word) or, arguably, two centuries of horological innovation. Technically spectacular, the double impulse chronometer achieves what George Daniels had described as almost impossible: the miniaturisation of his double wheel escapement as required to fit within a wristwatch. Importantly within this watch, the escapement assembly is presented as if being revealed from behind ‘theatre curtains’ and is prominently presented behind an almost full width glazed caseback (much admired nowadays where so many movements no matter what size or level of finishing appear to be showcased). Frodsham decided to pare back the visual impact of the main bridge and winding work wheels so as not to distract from the main act. The layers are structured, mirroring the ceramic dial construction, and the main finishes are matting, graining, and black polished steel. Through this discrete, but high end finissage, the 3-armed balance bridge is able to prise open the space required for the viewer to observe the two separately driven escape wheels, which interact with the balance wheel and impossibly light detent. Visible in the centre of the movement is the teardrop shaped up/down indicator and, above to the right, the differential cluster for its gearing. Not so visible are the two groups of hardened 18k gold wheels of the two gear trains: The apogee of function and aesthetics. And these are the final images I shall leave you with!