The purely financial answer is that works by their various pupils and journeymen still represent excellent value for money. Clocks by Tompion, for instance, now start at around £200,000 but a good example by an apprentice will cost a fraction of that. This all depends, of course, if one can be found, for clocks falling into this category are rather less numerous than clocks by the great man himself.
On the other hand, the starting price for clocks by the Knibb family, while being more affordable, is still at the £100,000 level. During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the amount of manpower required to produce a diverse product of high quality in relatively large numbers required nothing short of a small manufactory. The Knibb family working from London and Oxford produced high quality clocks of huge appeal. By the 1680s the designs of both Joseph's and John's work is of such similarity that it is indicative of the cooperation between the two workshops. Samuel Aldworth was apprenticed to John Knibb of Oxford in 1673 and continued to work as a journeyman for him until 1689. He moved to London in 1697, the same year that Joseph Knibb sold his business. The kingwood table timepiece by Samuel Aldworth (opposite) uses a pull quarter repeat system favoured by the family.
In his own lifetime Tompion, above all others, gained a superb reputation that was fully deserved. The reason for this is quite simple. From early in his career he appears to have retained almost complete control of his output and refused to compromise by 'buying in' from other makers. This resulted in clocks of exceptional quality and, as time progressed, uniform but groundbreaking designs. Tompion's customers paid a premium for his clocks, in the same way that people today are prepared to pay an inflated price for designer goods. These customers are under no illusion that Mr Vuitton hand sews his own luggage, what they are paying for is Louis' expertise, design and quality control. A discerning person might feel that an item made by the same hand should be worthy of a second glance.
It is interesting to note that, with the exception of Delander and Webster, none of Tompion's other apprentices achieved real eminence or commercial success in their own right. It is distinctly possible that, with his high standards and prodigious output, Tompion had to do his best to retain the workforce he had trained to standards beyond those of his contemporaries. Indeed, George Allett (figure 1), who was apprenticed on 3rd December 1683 and made free on 6th July 1691, is still listed in Tompion's household four years later in the Marriage Assessment of 1695. Interest-ingly, sixteen other freemen and apprentices are also listed indicating the scale of operations. It seems likely that many of those who had left Tompion's household were still employed in some way, and this theory is certainly assisted by the small number of surviving clocks signed by these makers.