Simon De Charmes of London

An 18th century walnut longcase clock, the front elevation with well figured detail, the door of full length and with moulded detail, the arched hood with blind fret frieze column supports enclosing a twelve inch broken arch brass dial, silvered chapter ring, subsidiary silent/strike selector, calendar and secondary dials, the month going  movement with dead beat escapement and compensating power, by Simon De Charmes of London, 232 cm in height £7,500

Simon De Charmes was a French Huguenot clockmaker working in London where he arrived in 1688. He was a refugee from France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 by Louis XIV. The resulting exodus of Huguenot workers deprived French industry of some of their finest craftsmen and had a dramatic affect upon English furniture, silverware, tapestries and of clocks. He became a Free Brother of the Clockmakers’ Company in April 1691 and was active at the Sign of the Clock in Charing Cross until at least 1704. He is said to have died at Grove Hall, Hammersmith in 1730
Well known for his complicated watches - several of which are in museum collections, notably the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers collection in the Guildhall Museum.