I learned about a new kind of watch mechanism today.... when I pulled the plate off the back of a pocket watch mechanism.... and there was? bike chain? in there? and it was under tension still? 🥶
The hallmarks in the case are: lion passant (sterling silver), three wheat sheaves with an upturned sword (Chester Assuary Office) and a gothic P, which indicates 1878 as the year of manufacture.
Everything has been cleaned, rinsed and dried and I started reassembly but I’ll probably finish it tomorrow.
Oh and instead of screws in a bunch of places it has brass taper pins, shown here under the microscope :/
This is a “fusee” style watch mechanism, made around 1878. Apparently at that point the fusee had been obsolete for over a hundred years, but this seems like it was quite a budget movement - it only has 3 jewels! Everything else is just metal on metal pivots.