Oval silver cased verge clock-watch with date indicator

Description — British Museum

Movement frame: Oval gilt-brass plates with four pierced Egyptian pillars. Riveted potence and riveted counter-potence. Engraved decoration around the verge aperture. Two recesses traversed by riveted bridges provide bearings for the second wheel and contrate pinion of the going train and the fourth wheel and fifth pinion of the striking train. Mainspring & set-up: The mainspring barrel is now missing. Ratchet and click set up, the original spring survives with a replacement click, but the ratchet wheel is missing. Fusee & stop-work: The fusee is missing but the English stop-work remains, the spring possibly now replaced. Going train: Three wheel train with all the wheels and pinions now missing. Escapement & balance: Verge escapement, with only the crown wheel remaining. Striking train: Count-wheel striking with warned release. Originally a six wheel train powered by a fixed barrel. With the exception of the pierced and engraved barrel and the release/locking lever, all the components are now missing. Calendar: Originally driven by a pinion on the dial wheel and an intermediate calendar wheel and pinion, now only the calendar ring remains. Dial & hands: Oval silver dial with three rectangular-section feet. Around the edge are four lugs to engage in case-band recesses. The upper and lower spandrel spaces are engraved with scrolling foliage to surround the revolving gilt-brass date ring engraved 1-31. In the middle a separate pinned-on circular silver dial, the engraved chapter-ring with Roman hours I-XII and arrow-head half-hour marks surrounding a quarter-circle. The dial centre is plain. At the top of the dial is a riveted steel pointer to indicate the date. The central hand is missing. CASE: Oval silver case with integral back and hinged bezel split and glazed, the glass now missing. Within a gadroon border, the back is pierced and engraved with a scrolling foliate design incorporating two addorsed half figures. The band is also pierced and engraved with foliate scrolls. Beneath the silver pendant and in the finial position are engraved rosettes. The bell is missing.