Unusual Painted Dial Silver Pair Cased Verge

Unusual Painted Dial Silver Pair Cased Verge.

Signed: Sims & Son, London.
Hallmarked London: 1800.
Diameter: 56 mm.

A late 18^th Century English verge with unusual painted dial in silver pair cases.  Full plate fire gilt fusee movement with turned pillars.  Pierced and engraved masked cock, engraved foot and plate for the silver regulator disc. Plain three arm steel balance, blue steel spiral hairspring.  Unusual enamel dial painted wit a rural scene, the time shown on a small chapter of Roman numerals on the clock tower of a church in the foreground.  Two gentlemen are depicted shaking hands on the path leading to the church, gravestones on either side. Behind them a windmill stands beside a river.  Matching plain silver pair cases, silver pendant and bow, lateral steel stop lever, maker’s mark “SB” in a rectangle.

Painted scenes similar to this are normally found with the sails of the windmill automated, mounted on a seconds arbor.  This example appears to have been intended to be similar, the lateral steel stop lever very rarely found on watches without seconds.  The windmill is situated above the contrate wheel pivot but the dial has never been drilled for an extended arbor.  An automated watch hallmarked 1801 with a very similar scene was in our 91st catalogue.  Probably painted by the same hand or from the same original.

Price

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

Stock number