An unusual early verge, with an equally unusual signature.

MOVEMENT : Gilded verge fusee movement, with engraved and pierced balance cock. The balance cock is cut away, leaving some highly stylised lettering. Signed H. A. Lhasnegaw?. Quite crude engraving to the balance cock foot and plate, though the table is beautifully done. Very unusual numbering on the silver regulator disk. Very ornate pillars, though with signs of repair on the backs (solder). The mainspring set up is via a sprung ratchet under the dial. All in quite good condition and running well.

DIAL : White enamel, in good condition except for a small repair at the centre aperture (mostly hidden by the hands). This dial and the hands are late 18th century so are replacements.

INNER CASE : Silver, worn hallmarks for London, 1741. A deep case in good condition. The hinge is worn with one sleeve broken but the bezel does snap shut. The high dome bull’s eye crystal is in good condition. The owner’s initials, “JM” are nicely engraved on the back.

OUTER CASE : Silver pair case. No hallmarks. The hinge is fine and the case does snap shut although the catch and button are missing. Otherwise good condition. The owner’s name “J. Melin” is engraved on the back.

There are a number of unusual features of this watch, including the design of balance cock, the style of engraving, the regulator disk, the pillars and the mainspring set up. The signature may be a corruption from a more normal spelling or a coded name, so it is a watch that might benefit from some research.