English 18K yellow gold full hunter pocket watch Circa 1850

Gold hunting cased key winding lever watch
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A fine English 18 carat yellow gold full hunter pocket watch made by Thomas Yates in Liverpool, circa 1850. It has a mechanical key winding movement with a lever escapement, signed and numbered on the movement. The white enamel dial features black Roman numerals for the hours, a fine outer minute track, a subsidiary seconds dial at 6 o’clock, and blued steel pear-shaped hands, and is signed Thomas Yates, Liverpool. The timepiece is housed in a round three body, 18 carat solid yellow gold full hunter case. This case has a spring hinged front cover and a matching reverse back cover decorated with an intricately detailed 18 carat yellow gold engine turned pattern centring a smooth circular vacant reserve. It also has a delicately fluted caseband, a short cylindrical winding stem, a sturdy round suspension bow, and a plain polished 18 carat gold inner protective cuvette.
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Diameter: 54 mm
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Weight: 126.8 g
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Signed: Thomas Yates, Liverpool
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Thomas Yates was a highly distinguished English watchmaker born in Goosnargh in 1811. He established his renowned workshop on Friargate in Preston, Lancashire. He is most celebrated in horological history for inventing and patenting a specialized slow beat (or half second beating) lever escapement in 1846. This movement slowed the standard train count to 7,200 beats per hour using heavy gold or brass balance wheels to reduce mechanical wear and maximize accuracy over long periods. While his workshop and retail operations remained rooted in Preston, Yates maintained a vital manufacturing connection to the nearby watchmaking metropolis of Liverpool. He frequently collaborated with elite Liverpool masters like Samuel Quilliam to craft his premium 18 carat gold cases and incorporated highly esteemed Liverpool jewelling techniques into his movements. Because of this hybrid production pipeline, many of his finest patented timepieces carry his signature paired with the Liverpool designation.