German/English gilt oval Puritan-style pendant watch Circa 1630

Gilt pre-balance spring verge watch by Pieter Hues
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An important German/English fire-gilded bronze oval pre-balance spring one-handed Puritan-style pendant watch, circa 1630. Oval full plate movement, gut and fusee, verge escapement, applied click work, plain two-arm iron balance without balance spring. Gilt-bronze dial richly engraved with flowers, foliage scrolls and a cherub’s head, applied silver chapter ring with Roman hours, an engraved city view of the London Bridge and surroundings in the centre, a single iron hand. Polished case. Movement signed.
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Dimensions: 42 x 64 mm
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Weight: 113 g
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Signed: Pieter Hues fecit
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According to Jürgen Abeler’s records, watchmaker Pieter Hues of Augsburg created a pocket watch in 1680, which now resides in the Württemberg national museum in Stuttgart. Baillie’s ‘Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World’ lists Pieter Hues (or Pierry Hue) as living in Augsburg in 1600. In 1632 he was a member of the Clockmakers’ Company in London. In 1652 he is again recorded as a member of the company.