Jewelry & Vertu Collection: Saddle watch and pedometer

The late-eighteenth-century fascination with personal scientific instruments included an interest in pedometers. This unusual model combines a watch with a saddle pedometer for counting the paces of a horse. The horse’s movement causes the watch and outer case to move up and down, forcing the chain to pull on the pedometer mechanism. The lower right dial measures single paces, the lower left dial measures tens of paces, and the outside of the large dial measures hundreds of paces, up to ten thousand. The instrument was made by Ralph Gout, who received a 1799 patent for improvements to pedometers.

Ralph Gout, saddle watch and pedometer. Gilt metal, enamel, glass.  London, ca. 1800. 2005.22

Author or Artist Ralph Gout
Publication or Manufacture Date 1800
Country of Origin United Kingdom