Exceptional English 20 carat gold and enamel verge Circa 1710

Verge with enamelled case attributed to Huaud-Mussard by Henry Massy
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An early English 20 carat gold and enamel verge pocket watch, circa 1710. Case attributed to the Huaud-Mussard family, the band additionally set with jewels, on the back a polychrome enamel mythological scene of Venus, Adonis and Amor, school of Blois, band with four different cartouches showing scenes of various castle views, a detailed scene of a castle view with river and a traveller to the inside. White enamel dial with Roman hours and Arabic minutes, blued steel hands. Movement signed and numbered.
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Diameter: 49 mm
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Weight: 120 g
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Signed: Hen. Massy London
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Blois in France was at the beginning of the 17th century famous for its enamel painting and watchmaking. However, many Huguenot craftsmen had to leave their homeland because of their religion at that time, so did Pierre Huaud, who settled in Geneva as an enameller in 1630 and became the founder of the Huaud dynasty. The works of the Huauds stood out from the works of the Geneva School for their unique beauty and were also admired as masterpieces of art in the following centuries. Jean V. Mussard (1681-1754), a cousin of the Huauds, became the most famous enamel painter of the early 18th century and was inspired by the work of the Huauds. According to Brian Loome’s ‘Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World’, London 2006, Henry Massy worked in London on Charles Street and was a member of the Clockmakers’ Company from 1692 to 1745. His father Nicolas (II) Massy, born in Blois, France, came to London as a refugee and had his workshop on Cranbourn Street. He belonged to the Clockmakers’ Company from 1682 and died in 1698. Father and son descend from the outstanding French watchmaker Nicolas (I) Massy in Blois, who became a master there in 1623 and married in the same year. He became a juror in 1646 and died in 1658. It can be assumed that the close relationship of the Massy family to the artists from Blois was never interrupted.