Swiss silver single handed oignon watch with alarm Circa 1680

Silver oignon verge with early use of balance spring by Pierre Lagisse
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A fine, very rare and very early Swiss silver single handed oignon watch with alarm and early use of balance spring, circa 1680. Hinged gilt brass full plate movement with turned baluster pillars, fusee with chain, verge escapement, three armed steel balance, flat balance spring, pierced foliate cock with three segments, early type worm-and-wheel set up, alarm train with pierced foliate engraved barrel, steel wheels and double ended hammer sounding on a bell in the back of the case. Engraved gilt dial with black Roman numerals on white enamel cartouches, inner white enamel 1/4 hour divisions, inner alarm setting disc with Arabic numerals, foliate chased centre, original blued steel tulip hour pointer and alarm hand. Polished case, bezel with pierced sound holes, inner bezel pierced and decorated with foliage.
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Diameter: 57 mm
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Signed: P. Lagisse
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This watch is a very early type of oignon watch with early use of the balance spring. The balance cock is designed in such a way that the spring can clearly be seen so as to show off this novel feature. The dial is later but only by perhaps 20 years, the alarm stopwork and mainspring are missing.
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Pierre Lagisse worked in Geneva and Isphahan, probably apprenticed in 1638 to Martin DuBoule and died in 1679. He began his career in Geneva and subsequently moved to Persia where he became watchmaker to the Shah, although it is certain that the majority of his production continued to be made in Switzerland.