English verge watch in gold repousse pair cases Circa 1737

Verge watch in gold repoussé pair cases by William Winrowe
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A fine English pair cased verge pocket watch with outer Repoussé case, The Banquet of Antony and Cleopatra, circa 1737. The watch consists of two cases. The outer case is 22-carat gold, featuring floral engravings and a mythological Repoussé scene depicting The Banquet of Antony and Cleopatra. It also has a large lateral hinge. The inner case is 22-carat gold and has a polished finish with a signed movement protection cap. The dial is made of enamel and displays radial Roman hour markers, radial Arabic minute markers, and blued steel hands in the shape of a poker and a beetle. The movement is a full plate, keywind mechanism with a fire gilt finish. It showcases applied floral decorations, a chain/fusee system, baluster movement pillars, a three-arm brass balance, and a finely engraved pierced balance cock adorned with a fish motif.
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Diameter: 47 mm
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Weight: 111 g
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Signed: Wm Winrowe London
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The Banquet of Antony and Cleopatra
There are several unverifiable stories about Cleopatra, of which one of the best known is that she playfully bet him that she could spend ten million sestertii on dinner at one of the lavish dinners she shared with Antony. He accepted the bet. The next night, she had a conventional, unspectacular meal served; he was ridiculing this when she ordered the second course — only a cup of strong vinegar. She removed one of her priceless pearl earrings, dropped it into the vinegar, allowed it to dissolve, and drank the mixture. The earliest report of this story comes from Pliny the Elder and dates to about 100 years after the banquet described would have happened. The calcium carbonate in pearls does dissolve in vinegar, but slowly, unless the pearl is first crushed.