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Index No. A7601 Rare Early Verge with Perpetual Calendar
A late 17th Century English verge in  very rare silver pair cases with perpetual calendar.  Deep full plate fire gilt movement, Egyptian pillars with pierced gallery above.  Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Pierced and engraved winged cock with mask, pierced and engraved foot.  Plain steel balance, silver regulator disc. Signed silver champleve dial with Roman and Arabic numerals, blue steel beetle and poker hands. Plain silver inner case, ring bow and pendant, circular silver shutter to the winding aperture.  Maker's mark "IW" and number corresponding to that on the movement.   Silver outer case with seven joint square hinge, makers mark "WS" with a crown above.  The bezel and back of the case engraved with details of the twelve months of the calendar.  In the centre of the back two independently rotating discs. The inner one engraved "Calendarium Perpetuum" is set to show the days of the week.  The outer disc appears to show the state of the moon with three bands of figures indicating "Der 0 ist - tag alt" : "Schient - minuten" : "und - Stund" (The moon is - days old : Shines for - minutes : and - Hours).  The remainder of the case is divided radially into thirteen divisions, one small which occupies the section with the case button, the remaining 12 for the months of the year.  The innermost five concentric bands  have each month divided into four, each section containing a number.  The next band appears to show the Saints days of the month, generally three in each.  For example December indicates "6 Nicolaus, 21 Thoma, 25 Christag".  The final band at the outer edge of the back shows the sign of the zodiac.  The engraving on the bezel shows, within oval cartouches,  the months in abbreviated English . The number of days in the month is also engraved together with two other figures, sometimes in Arabic and sometimes in Roman numerals.
SignedJohn Bushman    London   1252
Circa 1695
Diameter 57 mm
Depth19 mm
In remarkably fine condition, the engraving only lightly rubbed on the central discs of the outer case.  This calendar work is possibly unique on a watch and some features seem contradictory.  Although marked in English on the bezel it is predominantly German.  This might be due to the fact the maker of the watch is from a German family.  The use of two different casemakers is not entirely surprising given the amount of specialist work needed on the outer.  The maker of the inner is listed as either John Willoughby or John Wightman, working from about 1685.  The outer appears to have the mark of William Sherwood, (known to have made watchcases) although the crown above is of a slightly different design to that on the 1682 plate.  Interestingly the marks of these two makers are only one apart.
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