George Prior, London
A yellow gold, enamel and diamond-set pair cased minute repeating verge keywound watch with chain and fusée and enamel dial, Made for the Turkish market, Circa 1800
Estimate
240,000 - 500,000 HKD
Lot Details
Description
George Prior, London
A yellow gold, enamel and diamond-set pair cased minute repeating verge keywound watch with chain and fusée and enamel dial, Made for the Turkish market, Circa 1800
Dial: white enamel dial, Turkish numerals
Calibre: keywound verge escapement, chain and fusée, gilt and engraved main plate, pierced and engraved balance cock with diamond end stone, silvered regulation plate with Turkish numerals
Movement number: 28’598
Case: 18k yellow gold, inner case with aperture for winding to back, case with polychrome enamel scene depicting flowers on the red guilloché enamel background, pendant and bow with champlevé and guilloché enamel decoration, the top of pendant set with a rose-cut diamond, pierced and engraved band with two champlevé enamel decoration, guilloché enamel bezel, outer case with polychrome enamel harbour scene on the pink guilloché enamel background with champlevé enamel border
Size: 54 mm diameter
Signed: case, dial and movement
Accessories: none
The present watch is a pair-cased minute-repeating pocket watch fitted with a characteristic verge escapement and chain-and-fusée transmission. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, minute repeaters were rarely encountered among chiming pocket watches with verge escapements.
The case is elaborately decorated using a variety of enamelling and gold-engraving techniques and is further embellished with diamonds set to the top of the pendant and the pusher used to open the outer case. Of particular interest is the enameller’s signature, “J. Dainese, 1826”, found inside the outer case back, alongside the casemaker’s initials “IM”, possibly those of James Marson or James Macklin.
According to research, movement number 28'598 indicates that the watch was made around 1800, while George Prior died in 1814. It is therefore believed that, sometime after 1814, the owner returned the watch to the workshop for servicing and commissioned the addition of an enamel miniature plaque, which was highly sought after and regarded as a mark of prestige at the time. It is extremely rare to find an enameller’s signature inside a pocket watch of this period. Examples incorporating a minute repeater are particularly uncommon, further enhancing the present watch’s appeal to collectors.
George Prior (1745–1814) was a London watchmaker who specialised in clocks and watches made for the Turkish market. His watches were typically fitted with dials bearing Turkish numerals and housed in multiple cases, including pair-cased and triple-cased configurations.
George Prior, 倫敦
黃金及琺瑯鑲鑽石三問套殼懷錶，鑰匙上弦，備工字輪擒縱、芝麻鏈傳動及琺瑯錶盤，為土耳其市場而製, 約1800年製