Archive of Sold Items

A large rare late 18^th Century English verge clockwatch with regulator dial and day date calendar in decorative gilt and enamel pair cases.  Full plate fire gilt movement with gilt dust cover.  Pierced and engraved cock, silver regulator disc. Plain three arm gilt balance, one arm a short counterweight to avoid the winding square, blue steel spiral hairspring.  Resting barrel for the striking train.  Two polished steel hammers sounding on a bell in the case.  Two blows are struck for each quarter and a blow for each hour on the hour.  White enamel dial with subsidiaries for hours, seconds, day of the week and date.  Central minute hand, Roman and Arabic numerals.  Lateral levers to set the date and for strike / silent.  Pierced and engraved gilt metal pair cases, sections of the piercing picked out in silver.  Polychrome enamel centre to the outer case, oval scene depicting a young girl with her dog sitting beneath a tree.  Unusual blue raised beads bordering the scene and the front bezel set with split pearls.

A fine and unusual late 18^th Century French virgule in a very rare gold and enamel case with invisible hinge.  Unusual slim full plate gilt keywind movement with raised resting barrel.  Plain sector shaped cock secured by two blue steel screws, polished steel coqueret.  Small plain three arm gilt balance with blue steel spiral hairspring, steel regulator with index on the plate.  Rare virgule escapement, brass escape wheel.  Winding through the white enamel dial, Roman and Arabic numerals, gold beetle and poker hands.  Fine pearls set gold and enamel case with glazed gold protective outer.  Engraved gold bezels decorated with blue, red and white champleve enamel.  Matted gold back with applied three colour gold decoration of an urn within an oval frame.  Set with split pearls and champleve enamel in various translucent colours.  The edge of front bezel set within a recess of the body of the case with no discernable sign of a hinge. Opening the bezel by depressing a button in the pendant reveals the hinge to be unusually placed at three o’clock, set close to the movement.  The small crescent of the bezel beyond the hinge moves below the recess in the body of the case.  Glazed gold outer case to protect the watch.

A large quarter striking English verge clockwatch made for the Turkish market in quadruple silver and horn cases.  Full plate fire gilt movement with signed and numbered gilt dust cover.  Pierced and engraved cock, pierced and engraved foot and plate for the silver regulator disc marked in Turkish numerals.  Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Plain three arm steel balance, blue steel spiral hairspring. Large resting barrel for the striking train sounding two blows for each quarter the hours on a bell in the case.  White enamel dial signed for the retailer, George Prior, Turkish hour and five minute numerals, blue steel beetle and poker hands.  Four cases, the innermost silver chased, pierced and profusely engraved case with long silver pendant, later bell, steel strike/silent lever.   Silver pierced and engraved out case with large vacant oval cartouche, maker’s mark “WW”.  Third protective case covered in green horn, silver bezels, pierced roundels and pique pins in a large foliate pattern.  Large fourth case covering the dial, probably locally made of silver, engraved with a star and foliate decoration on the front.