English 18K gold open faced chronometer watch Circa 1823

A rare museum standard collector’s watch
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Rare English chronometer pocket watch, circa 1823. Very fine Earnshaw Chronometer movement with Z-balance and trapezoidal weights, cylindrical spiral, finely engraved plate signed and numbered. Original, signed and numbered enamel dial (fine hairlines) with blued steel hands. Plain 18 carat gold case, London hallmarks of 1823 and maker’s punch TH (Thomas Hardy).
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Diameter: 54 mm
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Weight: 145 g
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Signed: Thomas Earnshaw London
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Thomas Earnshaw (1749-1829) was one of the most important English watchmakers. His pocket watches are today mostly in well-known private collections and museums. In 1763 he was trained as a watchmaker. Earnshaw developed spring detent escapement in his own manufactory in London around 1781. This watch, which has been known for a long time, was first auctioned in Geneva in 1992. The price at that time amounted to 13,000 Swiss francs.