English/Dutch pair cased watch with date indicator Circa 1720

Open faced verge pocket watch by Fromanteel & Clarke
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An English/Dutch pair cased verge pocket watch with date indicator, circa 1720.
22 carat gold outer case, engraved with birds, flower vases and foliage and with case maker’s punch mark “PL” with coronet above; 22 carat gold inner case with case maker’s punch mark “PL” with coronet above; white enamel dial with Roman hours, Arabic minutes, date window at “6” and decorative steel hands; full plate movement, chain/fusee and three-arm steel balance.
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Diameter: 56 mm
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Weight: 156 g
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Signed: No name
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With branches in London, Amsterdam and Newcastle, the Fromanteel family was the first international company for the production of timepieces.
Around 1680, Ahasuerus II. Fromanteel established a partnership with Christopher Clarke from Amsterdam, who would later become his son-in-law; the company was called “Fromanteel & Clarke” . Fromanteel came from a family of renowned makers and worked in London as well as in Amsterdam. The partnership ended in 1703 with Fromanteel’s death. Clarke continued the business in a new partnership with Fromanteel‘s younger brother Abraham, where they also used the “Fromanteel and Clarke” signature, without including their location.