English double cased watch with rack lever escapement Circa 1810

Watch with Litherland’s patent rack lever escapement by Robert Roskell
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An important English 18 Carat rose gold pair-cased pocket watch with rack lever escapement, according to Peter Litherland – Work Number1!, circa 1810.
Full plate movement, key wind, chatoned large bearing stones Liverpool windows, rack lever escapement, three-armed steel balance. Off-white enamel dial with Roman radial hours, outer minutes track, subsidiary dial for the seconds, and gold spade-style hands. Double cased: polished outer case – 18 Carat rose gold; and polished inner case – 18 Carat rose gold, protective cap.
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Diameter: 57 mm
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Weight: 146 g
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Signed: Robert Roskell Liverpool
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For the collector of English watches or, more rarely, escapements, this piece is a real highlight, as it is the first manufactured example of a pocket watch by the important Liverpool watchmaker Robert Roskell with the rare experimental escapement.
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Robert Roskell was a skilled clockmaker and clockmaker in Liverpool and London. He signed through various partnerships and acquisitions: Robert & Son, Hunt & Roskell, Robert Roskell Liverpool or Roskell Liverpool.
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Peter Litherland, English watchmaker based in Liverpool
Peter Litherland was born in 1756 in Warrington, 16 miles east of Liverpool. He later moved to Liverpool, then the capital of watchmaking. He is the inventor of the anchor gear with a rack, Patented in 1794. Patent No. 1830, London. This was more accurate than the verge escapement commonly used. He founded the Litherland company in Liverpool in 1790. When he died in 1804, he was only 49 years old. After his death, the company was renamed Litherland & Co, a few years later, Litherland Whiteside & Company and from 1816, Litherland, Davies & Co.