Early London Gold Repousse Pocket Watch

An early London gold verge watch, in a fine gold repousse pair case.

MOVEMENT : Gilded movement with square pillars, silver regulator disk, and beautifully pierced and engraved balance cock with mask to the neck. The balance cock is centred with a particularly attractive gold set pink endstone (ruby ?).

The movement is signed David Pain, LONDON and numbered 340.

All in very good condition and running well.

There are two steel posts on the top plate which would originally have held a removable dustcap, which is now absent.

DIAL : White enamel dial.

In good condition, with no repairs, but a short hairline across the edge at 3, and two light hairlines from the centre towards 1 and 6.

Nice matching gold hands.

This dial (and the hands) is later, as a watch of this age would originally have had a gold champleve dial. This enamel dial is from the late 18thc.

INNER CASE : 22ct. gold case, with maker’s mark SD, movement number 340 and rubbed hallmarks for London, 22ct gold, but no year number visable.

The case is in good condition, with just a little rubbing and slight compression around the band. The join between the stem and the case has been neatly reinforced with a small metal plate inside the case. There is also a small brass stud at the catch, which may be plugging a hole originally used to spring the catch.

The high dome crystal is fine and the bezel snaps shut correctly..

OUTER CASE : Unmarked high carat gold again, of quite a heavy gauge. The beautiful repousse work depicts a classical scene, possibly the Sacrifice of Iphigenia.

The repousse work is in very good condition, with no holes and just slight wear to the high points of the figures. There is a small hole on the back, next to the neck, which was probably originally used to attach a safety chain.

The catch, catch button and hinge are all fine and the case snaps shut correctly.

The total gold weight, for both cases, is about 52 gms.

David Pain is recorded at Spitalfield Market, London, in 1721.

The case maker is probably Samuel Davies, who was registered in 1718.