James Ryland, Ormskirk

• Movement: gilded full plate, decoratively pierced balance cock engraved with flowers, foliage and a bird at the neck, flat steel balance, the pyramidal shaped pallets cut through, each with impulse face and banking piece between, numbered regulation scale, fixed barrel, square baluster pillars, stop lever activating whip on escape wheel, signed and numbered Jas. Ryland, Ormskirk, 216
• Dial: white enamel, Roman numerals, arcaded outer minute/seconds ring, gold hands, steel centre seconds
• Cases: plain gilt metal inner and outer cases, start/stop lever beneath bezel at 9 o'clock, the inner with winding aperture to back and maker's mark V incuse 

Terence Camerer Cuss, The English Watch 1585-1970, 2009, p. 289, pl. 177

Movement running at time of cataloguing. Dial with small chips to the edge. Inner case with some wear to gilding, mainly to bezel, slight depression to the band. Outer case with light scuffs and some rubbing to gilding of bezel.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. All dimensions in catalogue descriptions are approximate. Condition reports may not specify mechanical replacements or imperfections to the movement, case, dial, pendulum, separate base(s) or dome. Watches in water-resistant cases have been opened to examine movements but no warranties are made that the watches are currently water-resistant. Please note that we do not guarantee the authenticity of any individual component parts, such as wheels, hands, crowns, crystals, screws, bracelets and leather bands, since subsequent repairs and restoration work may have resulted in the replacement of original parts. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue. In particular, please note it is the purchaser's responsibility to comply with any applicable import and export matters, particularly in relation to lots incorporating materials from endangered species.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

**Please be advised that bands made of materials derived from endangered or otherwise protected species (i.e. alligator and crocodile) are not sold with the watches and are for display purposes only. We reserve the right to remove these bands prior to shipping."

A similar watch by James Ryland, numbered 275 and hallmarked for Chester 1783, was sold at Sotheby's London, 21st November 1960, lot 138. James Ryland is noted by Brian Loomes in Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World as active between 1786 and his death in 1803.

The Debaufre escapement is a dead-beat frictional rest escapement invented by the London maker Peter Debaufre in about 1704. Makers in and around Ormskirk, Lancashire, revived its use in the latter part of the 18th century, also using a variation of the escapement tried by Henry Sully in about 1721-1722. Examples of these watches are often referred to as 'Ormskirk verges'.