English verge watch with date and radiant sun Circa 1700

Silver verge with date and radiant sun
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A Rare English silver pair cased verge watch with date and radiant sun, circa 1700, fire gilt full plate verge movement, flat steel balance with spring, pierced balance cock finely engraved with a grotesque mask at the neck, an angel’s head, squirrels, and a bird among scrolling acanthus leaves, tulip pillars, fusee and chain, silver champlevé dial decorated with a grotesque head and maker’s signature framed within an upper cartouche, left hand aperture displaying the date, right hand aperture displaying a fixed radiant sun, Roman numerals, outer Arabic minute track, blued steel tulip and poker hands, plain inner and outer case, inner case with case maker’s mark GN for George Nau, outer case marked BI possibly for Benjamin Jeffes.
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Diameter: 55 mm
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Signed: Mathieu Des hais London
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Very little is known of  Mathieu Des hais of London, Clearly, as demonstrated by the present watch, he was a maker of the highest order. Interestingly, Jeremy Evans writes of the Des hais watch no.79, in his book Thomas Tompion  noting “it displays workmanship closely comparable to Tompion’s style.” It is also interesting to note that the tulip hour and the minute hand on the present watch are almost identical to Tompion’s work of this period.