9 - Gutkaes & Lange

Gutkaes & Lange A significant, museum-quality Glashütte pocket watch in nearly mint condition Movement No. 227, Case No. 227 119, Dimensions 45 mm, circa 1850, Weight 57 g, Origin: Germany Case: Silver, guilloché pattern, cuvette engraved with “J. Biergans, München,” hallmark G&L (Gutkaes & Lange), and “Rödl.” Dial: Enamel. Movement: Bridge movement, key-wound, flying barrel, hand-setting mechanism within the movement, lever and escape wheel under a separate cock, pin-pallet escapement with long pallet fork and counterweights according to Perron, compensation balance. This piece is one of the earliest surviving pocket watches produced in Glashütte. The watch is in marvelous, almost unworn condition and is, in a sense, a time capsule. It offers insight into how Ferdinand Adolph Lange was able to build a company of international renown. Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes was born in Dresden on June 16, 1785. The choice of his godparents reflects the Gutkaes family’s close ties to the Dresden court—his grandfather, Johann Christian Gutkaese (1682–1757), had served as chef to the court of Augustus II the Strong, and Friedrich’s father, Johann Christian (1753–1835) was a clerk to Frederick Augustus III. According to Karl J. Langer, there is little reliable information about Gutkaes’s training as a watchmaker; the fact that the records of the watchmakers’ guild in Dresden show no entry for him indicates that he did not serve an apprenticeship in Dresden. Inspired by his future employer, Johann Friedrich Schumann (ca. 1759–1817), and his involvement with the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon, Gutkaes developed a strong interest in astronomy and mathematics. On September 21, 1815, Gutkaes married Schumann’s daughter, Friederica Charlotte; about two weeks later, he became a master watchmaker in Dresden. He ran a thriving watch and clock shop at the corner of Schlossstrasse and Rosmaringasse; however, due to his interest in astronomy, he devoted himself primarily to precision watches, and the many well-preserved pieces attest to his exceptional skills in this field. In 1831, he became second engineer at the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon and, together with first engineer Blochmann, maintained the Dresden time service’s clocks and instruments. Gutkaes even produced some of these instruments himself—for example, he created an astronomical precision pendulum clock for W.G. Lohrmann, director of the institute, and, on Lohrmann’s recommendation, an identical clock for Professor Bessel at the Königsberg Observatory. Gutkaes built his clocks in his workshop on Wilsdruffer Gasse, including the famous “Five-Minute Clock” at the Semper Opera House, which he had designed himself and which was just as spectacular on the day the opera house opened as it is today. Thanks to his skills, Gutkaes was appointed court clockmaker in 1842 and, as such, was entitled to free living quarters in the castle tower; he subsequently served as keeper of the tower and maintained the tower clock, which in effect made him responsible for keeping time in Dresden. In the same year, he was elected deacon of the Dresden watchmakers’ guild. Among Gutkaes’ apprentices were a number of well-known, even famous names: beginning on October 20, 1830, he trained—in addition to his eldest son Otto—Ferdinand Adolph Lange. In 1832, his second son began his apprenticeship with him, followed in 1834 by Moritz Krille, who later succeeded Kessels in Altona. The French chronometer makers Victor Gannery and B. Scharf also trained with Gutkaes for some time. When Adolph Schneider began his apprenticeship in Gutkaes’ workshop, he was already under the direction of Ferdinand Adolph Lange. Ferdinand Adolph Lange and Adolph Schneider both married daughters of Gutkaes. During the 1844 industrial exhibition in Dresden, Gutkaes and Lange jointly exhibited two astronomical pendulum clocks, each fitted with an experimental escapement, a seconds counter, and a round caliper capable of measuring 1/100 mm. Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes died on August 8, 1845, in Dresden at the age of 60. Case: very good. Dial: very good. Movement: very good, in working order, cleaning recommended.