Unusual mid 18thc. Swiss verge

Stock No. 1778

Isaac Soret
Geneva, c1750
Silver pair cases, 51 mm
Verge escapement

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A mid 18th century Swiss watch, with a particularly fine and unusual outer silver case.

MOVEMENT : Gilded fusee verge movement, with pierced balance cock and plate, attractively engraved with a shell to the neck of the cock. Red stone endstone. Four square pillars.

Signed Isaac Soret and numbered 5449. All in good condition and running well.

DIAL : Good silver champleve dial, signed as the movement. In very good condition.

Fancy gilt hands. Again in excellent condition.

INNER CASE : Silver, with maker’s mark IC and serial number matching the movement.

In good condition, though the bow is a little distorted and there is the usual compression around the band. One hinge sleeve has broken off, though the bezel still closes correctly.
The high dome bull’s eye crystal is fine.

OUTER CASE : A beautifully formed and engraved silver case, with no hallmarks or makers’s mark. The form is of ‘sea urchin’ shape which is commonly seen in much earlier, mid 17thc. cases.

The hinge, catch button and catch are fine, and the bezel snaps shut, There are a few small bruises, but no cracks or holes and the engraving is still crisp.

Isaac Soret is listed in Geneva in the mid 18th century. He died in 1760.