Stock No. : 0954
J. May
London, c1780
Silver & shell triple cases
Verge movement
Sold
MOVEMENT : Gilded verge movement, with engraved and pierced balance bridge. Fully signed and numbered (10920). There is some wear to the gilding in places, particularly towards the centre of the balance bridge, and a crack in the top plate from the edge towards the winding hole (no weakness or movement). The engraved stopwork bracket near the fusee has a piece missing, but otherwise complete and is running well.
DIAL : 34 mm. White polychrome enamel. Reasonable condition with a flake around the bottom right side of the centre hole, a few chips around the edge and a very light hairline from the edge at 1. Fancy gilt hands.
INNER CASE : 41.75 mm. Silver, with rubbed London hallmarks and stamped with part of the movement serial number (920). The case is in reasonable condition, though the pendant has been reattached to the case (pendant possibly a replacement) and some dents and wear around the sides. The hinge is fine and the case snaps shut. The high dome bull’s eye crystal is fine.
MIDDLE CASE : 49.3 mm. Silver repousse,. The hinge, catch button and catch are fine and the case closes nicely. All in good condition with just the usual wear to the high points on the repousse work but no holes or repairs.
OUTER CASE : 57.5 mm. Silver, with horn or shell covering, and silver centre disk. Again in good condition, with excellent colour and no restoration. The bezel has one short crack, a tiny piece of shell missing and just 3 pins missing. The back has no pieces missing, 3 cracks (the most noticeable around the button and hinge) and only 7 pins missing. The hinge and catch are fine and the case snaps shut nicely. The catch button has worn down a little.
Although marked ‘London’, this watch was probably made in Holland or Switzerland. The English silver hallmarks on the inner case could be spurious, but it was made during the last quarter of the 18th century.