Question 4·Multiple choice
The earliest known lever escapement survives in a watch by Thomas Mudge, now in the Royal Collection. Whose watch was it?
- A.Queen CharlotteCorrect answer
- B.King George II
- C.Marie-Antoinette
- D.Catherine the Great
The story behind it
George III acquired it in 1770, and Mudge called it 'the Queen's watch' and 'the most perfect watch that can be worn in the pocket, that was ever made'. The Royal Collection judges his lever, with the exception of the balance spring, the greatest single improvement ever applied to watches.