Beautiful Belgium gilded brass clock watch Circa 1600-1610

Gilded watch by Michael Nouwen, or Nouen (Flemish, active London)
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A rare, Belgium gilt brass clock watch with striking bell, circa 1600-1610.
Gilt brass and iron movement, verge escapement, and Signed: Michael Nouwen / London. The front plate is split in two, an unusual feature that makes it possible to remove the wheels of one train of the watch without disturbing the wheels of the other.
Gilt brass dial, outer chapter ring with Roman numerals and twelve touch pins, engraved foliage decorated centre and single steel hand. The female figure in the centre of the dial, reminiscent of Flemish personifications of Summer, wears a crown of grain stalks and carries a cornucopia in her right arm.
Large tambour-shaped case, hinged front cover pierced with openings to reveal the hour markers, pierced foliage decorated band, back with pierced and engraved floral and foliage decoration. These clock watches also typically have pierced cases so one could hear the striking of the bell, which is attached to the inside of the case.
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Diameter: 48 mm
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Signed: Michael Nouwen London
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The intricate piercing and engraving of the metalwork makes this watch as much a piece of jewellery or a display piece as a timekeeper. Watches of the period, though nearly always technically cutting-edge, were far from accurate and lacked a minute hand.
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Nouwen was a member of a Flemish family of clockmakers that originated in ’s-Hertogenbosch in Brabant, now a part of The Netherlands. Like the Vallins, he was probably a refugee from political and religious strife.