18th Century Watches
Showing 1–12 of 53 results
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Rare Early Automaton Repeater
A rare early 18th Century English quarter repeating verge with automated champleve dial. Deep full plate fire gilt movement with turned baluster pillars. 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. Push pendant quarter repeating on a bell in the case. Two polished steel hammers, engraved edge to the repeating resting barrel and deep edge to the dial plate. Silver champleve dial with Roman and Arabic numerals, blue steel beetle and poker hands. In the centre a pierced gilt representation of a bell over a blue steel ground. Either side of the bell are the engraved heads of dragons which appear to strike it when the watch is repeated. Silver inner case, pierced and engraved foliate scenes containing dragons and birds. Silver repousse outer case chased and engraved with a scene of Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruitful abundance. Pierced and engraved sections at the quarters separated by cartouches containing a dragon, fish bird of prey and a squirrel.
Jean François Poncet was a famous German watchmaker from Dresden. He was watchmaker to the duke of Saxony as well as to the king of Poland.We have not seen automaton work on the dial of a watch of this period. It pre-dates the examples found on continental quarter repeaters by almost a hundred years.Circa 1710£13,500.00 Add to cart -
Gem Set Gold Repeater with Royal Coat of Arms
An early 18th Century English quarter repeating verge with dust cover bearing Queen Anne’s Coat of Arms in fine decorative gem set gold pair cases. Deep full plate fire gilt movement, silver dust cover engraved with the Coat of Arms of Queen Anne Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates, turned baluster pillars. Pierced and engraved cock with pierced and engraved foot. Plain steel balance, gilt regulator disc. Push pendant quarter repeating striking a bell in the case, engraved repeating barrel. Signed gold champleve dial, arcaded minute ring, Roman and Arabic numerals, blue steel beetle and poker hands. 22 carat gold inner case pierced and engraved with a fine mask and depictions of monkeys in military uniforms, split bezel for the glass. Fine 22 carat gold outer case of unusual construction set with lapis lazuli, rubies emeralds and diamonds. The body of the case decorated in chased and engraved repousse work, panels in the back and bezel pierced. The stones are set in gold cages fixed inside the case and presented through cutouts in the outer. Central oval lapis lazuli stone is set in the largest cage surrounded by a border of diamonds and rubies.
Circa 1710£110,000.00 Add to cart -
Silver and Horn Champleve Dial Verge
An early 18th Century verge with calendar champleve dial in silver and horn pair cases. Deep full plate fire gilt movement with decorative pierced and engraved pillars. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Pierced and engraved bridge cock, pierced and engraved plate for the silver regulator disc. Plain three arm brass balance,. Signed silver champleve dial with engraved brass edge, arcaded minute ring. Small square aperture for the date indication in the central pierced and engraved silver mask over a blue steel ground. Roman and Arabic numerals, fine gilt hands. Plain silver inner case with large central rotating shutter for the winding aperture. Silver bezels to the outer case, covered in horn and decorated with an elaborate geometric pattern of silver pique pins.
Circa 1710£6,850.00 Add to cart -
Silver Champleve Dial Calendar
An early 18th Century English verge with calendar champleve dial in silver pair cases. Deep full plate fire gilt movement with Egyptian pillars. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Pierced and engraved winged cock with mask, later steel coqueret, pierced and engraved foot. Plain steel balance, silver regulator disc. Signed silver champleve dial with engraved brass edge. Small circular aperture for the gilt date indication, Roman and Arabic numerals, blue steel beetle and poker hands. Matching silver pair cases, silver pendant and stirrup bow, maker’s mark "TB", coronet above.
Circa 1710£4,300.00 Add to cart -
Rare Early Verge Pocket Watch with Garden of Eden Automation
A fine and rare 18th Century English verge with automated scene in a gold consular case. Deep full plate fire gilt movement with gilt dust ring. Turned baluster pillars, fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. The winged cock and regulator plate left plain, being neither pierced or engraved. Plain gilt balance. A central stalk supports the scene and carries a wheel which is driven by another mounted on the contrate wheel arbor. Fine white enamel dial with apertures for winding and regulation of the watch. Roman and Arabic numerals, blue steel beetle and poker hands. Plain gold consular case, maker's mark “IB”. A glazed aperture on the back reveals a gold chased and engraved repousse scene depicting Eve offering Adam the apple in the Garden of Eden. A snake circles the scene as the watch runs, its support hidden under the pierced and engraved border of the dust cover.
A rare watch in excellent overall condition. Surprisingly the specially designed movement is not signed and the maker has not decorated the cock as it remains concealed under the dust ring which is secured by two screwsCirca 1730£16,500.00 Add to cart -
Gold and Enamel Repeater and Chatelaine
An 18th Century English quarter repeating verge in gold and enamel pair cases and chatelaine with Chinese style decoration. Full plate fire gilt movement with turned baluster pillars. Pierced and engraved masked cock, diamond endstone in a blue steel setting, pierced and engraved foot and plate for the silver regulator disc. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Plain three arm gilt balance, blue steel spiral hairspring. Push pendant quarter repeating on a bell in the case. White enamel dial with Roman and Arabic numerals, pierced gilt hands. Pierced and engraved 22 carat gold inner case, foliate decoration inhabited by birds and dolphins, gold push pendant. Steel pulse piece to silence the bell. Unusual pierced and engraved 22 carat gold outer case decorated with a scene in Chinese style depicting a pagoda, peacock, fox and rabbits partly overlaid with transparent dark blue enamel. Maker’s mark “DA”. Matching solid gold and enamel chatelaine, gold clip supporting three gold and enamel shield shaped cartouches. Two further gold and enamel chain join to the watch buckle and two shorter chains with broad gold and enamel rings. Hinged clasps secured by threaded collars.
Circa 1735£32,000.00 Add to cart -
Silver Hallmarked Champleve Dial Verge
An early 18th Century English verge with silver champleve dial in hallmarked silver pair cases. Deep full plate fire gilt movement with square baluster pillars. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Pierced and engraved cock with mask, broad pierced and engraved foot. Plain gilt balance, silver regulator disc. Signed silver champleve dial with Roman and Arabic numerals, arcaded minute ring, pierced gilt hands. Matching plain silver pair cases, silver pendant and bow. both cases bearing the London hallmark of 1738 and maker's mark “RY” with number corresponding to that on the movement.
The cases of this watch are very unusual in bearing the earliest standard silver hallmark on a watchcase. Until the plate offences act came into force in 1739 small articles of silver were not required to be assayed. In Philip Priestley's recent book, British Watchcase Gold and Silver Marks 1670 – 1970, he gives the earliest hallmarked sterling silver watchcase as being Graham number 5863. This case was made by John Ward and bears the London date letter for the year 1739/40. The marks are of even greater interest as the same publication lists the casemaker as: Ralph Yeomans, a watchcase maker at Mr. Lloyds, a watchmaker in West Smithfields near Crowe Laine. James Lloyd, son of James Lloyd, apprenticed 1713, free of the Clockmakers Company 1722, died 1764.Hallmarked London 1738£7,800.00 Add to cart -
Gold Repousse Pair Case by Manly
A mid 18th Century English verge in unusual gold repousse pair cases by Manly. Full plate fire gilt movement with signed and numbered gilt dust cover, square baluster pillars. Pierced and engraved cock with a chased and engraved bust at the foot of the table, diamond endstone. Pierced and engraved foot and plate for the silver regulator disc. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Plain three arm steel balance, blue steel spiral hairspring. Very fine dial enamelled on gold, Roman and Arabic numerals, fine blue steel beetle and poker hands. 22 carat gold pair cases with matching maker’s marks "IW" below a star. The inner case engraved to imitate a pierced repeating case, numbered below the long gold pendant fitted in the manner of a push repeating pendant. Fine 22 carat gold outer case signed "H Manly fec". Central chased and engraved repousse scene depicting the Presentation in the Temple within a repousse border. The edge of the back and bezel decoratively pierced.
Hallmarked London 1743£9,500.00 Add to cart -
Fine Gold Repousse Pair Case by Moser
A mid 18th Century English verge in very fine gold repousse pair cases by Moser. Full plate fire gilt movement with signed and numbered silver dust cover. Pierced and engraved masked cock with large diamond endstone in a polished steel setting, silver regulator disc. Fusee and chain, turned pillars. Plain three arm steel balance, blue steel spiral hairspring. Unusual white enamel dial with delicate Arabic numerals around a fine tracery border, gold beetle and poker hands. Gold inner case unusually also decorated with foliate engraving around the edge, a grotesque mark at the base and small scene around the pendant. In the centre a bird perched in reeds surrounded by a symmetrical border, maker's mark “EB” with fleur dis lis above. Superbly worked 22 carat outer case of chased and engraved repousse work signed “Moser f” at the feet of the figure. Symmetrical repousse border to the main scene which depicts a musician playing a lyre surrounded by animals, including a stag, boar, wolf, lamb, lion and leopard. Outside the border a frieze of small landscapes and buildings
A fine and important watch. It is an early example of Moser's work made in the same year as a case made for a repeating watch by Graham which Richard Edgcumbe lists as No. 4. The scene appears to be a visualisation of a passage from Isaiah chapter 11 which is thought to be the origin of the phrase “The lion and lamb shall lay down together”.“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.“
George Michael Moser was born in Schaffhausen on January 17, 1706. He studied chasing and gilding under his father Michael, a coppersmith. He moved to London in 1726 and worked for John Valentine Haidt, goldsmith and watch chaser. By 1737 he was working on his own account at Craven Buildings off Drury Lane. In addition to chasing he also produced fine enamel cases of which only about twenty are known to survive. He designed the great seal of George III and painted enamel portraits of the royal children for Queen Charlotte. Moser continued to work at least until the late 1770's, and was active for the Royal Academy until the end of his life. On January 30, 1783, the “Gentleman's Magazine” reported that Moser “was followed to his grave in grand funeral pomp by all the capital artists, Sir Joshua Reynolds at their head as chief mourner, Sir William Chambers, etc. Ten mourning coaches, besides two gentlemen's coaches, were in the procession”. In The Art of the Gold Chaser in Eighteenth-Century London, Richard Edgcumbe devotes over 40 pages of text to Moser's work in addition to the many illustrations included. Unlike most of Moser's work this case graces the movement from a lesser known watchmaker. Other examples house movements by eminent watchmakers of the period such as Graham, Delander, Mudge, Ellicott and Vulliamy. It is also most unusual for the inner case to be engraved on a timepiece. Casemaker either Edward Bradshaw or Edward Branstone Bayley.
Hallmarked London 1744£51,000.00 Add to cart -
Gold Repousse Sewing Etui
A mid 18th Century gold repousse sewing etui housing a pair of gold handled scissors, bodkins, razor, pencil and notepad. Finely chased and engraved repousse body of 22 carat gold depicting a number of figures and putti within rococo borders. The hinged lid similarly decorated and lined with red velvet.
Circa 1750£6,500.00 Add to cart -
Repeating Gold and Bloodstone Etui
A fine and rare mid 18th Century gold mounted bloodstone etui set with a quarter repeating verge. Full plate fire gilt movement, pierced and engraved cock, silver regulator disc. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Plain three arm steel balance, blue steel spiral hairspring. Push pendant quarter repeating a bell. Winding through the white enamel dial, Roman and Arabic numerals, blue steel beetle and poker hands. Fine 22 carat gold etui, the chased and engraved repousse frame set with polished bloodstone panels. The lower half housing a pair of gold handled scissors, scraper, pencil, spoon and combination file with tweezers. The upper half contains the watch, the movement hinging from the etui. The chased and engraved repousse work pierced to allow the bell to sound clearly, gold repeating push pendant and bow.
Circa 1750£65,000.00 Add to cart -
Cut Steel Chatelaine and Accessories
A mid 18th Century cut steel chatelaine with oval enamel portrait. Openwork steel buckle decorated with faceted cut steel pins supporting six cut steel chains. The centre two for the watch and the others for accessories. Three accessories attached – one a gilt filigree owl, a stone set gilt seal inscribed “Mary” and a very unusual small pen knife in the form of an underpainted horn covered shoe. Sprung cut steel latches with threaded locking collars, one damaged.
Circa 1760£490.00 Add to cart