
Pocket Watches · Pocket watch
Pearl Set Gold and Enamel Verge, 1790
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- 1790
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Pocket watch
- Materials / technique
- gold, enamel, pearl
- Dealer
- WatchMuseum.org shop
- Stock no.
- Product 1501
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, WatchMuseum.org shop (product 1501)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Pearl Set Gold and Enamel Verge (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by WatchMuseum.org shop (stock number Product 1501), this is a pocket watch, dated 1790. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gold, enamel, pearl. The record is illustrated with 3 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — WatchMuseum.org shop
Step back in time with the exquisite “Pearl Set Gold and Enamel Verge – 1790,” a stunning example of late 18th-century Swiss craftsmanship that embodies the elegance and precision of its era. This remarkable verge pocket watch boasts a full plate gilt fusee movement, featuring a finely pierced and engraved bridge cock, complemented by a plain three-arm gilt balance and a blue steel spiral hairspring. The silver regulator dial is both functional and aesthetically pleasing, with a gilt indicator that enhances its readability. The winding mechanism is ingeniously integrated into the signed white enamel dial, which showcases Arabic numerals and blue steel hands, adding a touch of sophistication. Encased in a gold open face case adorned with pearl set bezels, a gold pendant, and bow, this timepiece is a marvel to behold. The back of the case is a true work of art, set with white stones and decorated in red and gilt enamel on a black ground, featuring a stylized sun and a crescent moon set with white stones. Signed by the esteemed Patron and dating back to around 1790, this watch, with a diameter of 39 mm, is not just a timekeeping device but a piece of history and art, reflecting the grandeur and meticulous craftsmanship of its time. This is a beautiful late 18th Century Swiss verge pocket watch that features a full plate gilt fusee movement. The watch has a finely pierced and engraved bridge cock along with a plain three arm gilt balance that is complemented by a blue steel spiral hairspring. The silver regulator dial is easy to read and features a gilt indicator. Winding is done through the signed white enamel dial that features Arabic numerals and blue steel hands. The watch comes with a gold open face case that has pearl set bezels, a gold pendant and bow. The back of the case is particularly unusual as it is set with white stones and is decorated in red and gilt enamel on a black ground. At the base of the case is a stylised sun below the gilt decorated red enamel arc. Above this is a crescent moon that is set with white stones. This wonderful watch is signed by Patron and is believed to date from around 1790. Its diameter is 39 mm. signed Patron Circa 1790S Diameter 39 mm
Historical context
Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Harrison solves longitude; Mudge invents the lever; Breguet's Paris workshop defines the modern watch.
From 1750 to 1850 the watch became a precision instrument. Mudge's lever escapement, the cylinder escapement, Lépine's thin bar calibre, Breguet's innovations (overcoil, tourbillon, perpétuelle) and the pocket chronometer of Arnold and Earnshaw all date from this period, while verge watches remained common in cheaper production.
Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Early Modern Horology
Atlas type guide
Verge and pair-cased watches
After Christiaan Huygens and Robert Hooke applied the balance spring around 1675, the verge watch became a reasonably reliable timekeeper and the minute hand became standard. Through the eighteenth century the typical English watch was a pair-cased verge: a fusee movement with a pierced, engraved balance cock, housed in an inner case and a separate protective outer case, often of repoussé gold, shagreen, tortoiseshell or enamel.
French watches of the same period were thicker 'oignons', later replaced by elegant thinner watches following Jean-Antoine Lépine's bar-bridge calibre of c. 1770. Dutch, Swiss and German makers supplied international markets, and verge watches were made until the mid-nineteenth century as cheaper alternatives to the cylinder and lever.
What to look for
- The pierced balance cock on the backplate: winged (continental) or with a foot (English); its style dates the watch.
- Fusee and chain visible through the movement; key winding through the dial (early) or case back.
- Hallmarks inside English silver or gold cases, which give a date letter.
- Maker's name and serial number engraved on the backplate; watch papers inside outer cases.
- Enamel dials (after c. 1720) versus earlier champlevé metal dials.
Dating clues
- Champlevé dials: c. 1680–1730; white enamel dials thereafter.
- English case hallmarks give the year of assay to within a year.
- Verge watches persisted in cheap production until c. 1850.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:Verge escapement
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