English fire gilded verge watch with pedometer Circa 1799

Splendidly decorated gilt pedometer watch
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A rare horse rider’s pedometer watch made by Ralph Gout in London, England, circa 1799. The splendidly decorated, shaped outer case was crafted from fire gilt. The back is numbered and has a hook for saddle mounting, movable protection for the pocket watch on the face, and at the top, a fastening loop for the pedometer function. The gilt case of the watch is polished and bears the maker’s mark IN.
The white enamel dial has an outer 0-100 pedometer scale, time indication with radial Roman hours, minute dot divisions and outer Arabic five minute numerals in the upper half, and two subsidiary dials, 0-10 and 0-100 in the lower half, each with a pink gold hand.
The finely engraved gilt full plate movement is fitted with a verge escapement, a balance cock, a diamond end stone, silver regulation and is pierced, engraved and inscribed “By the King’s Letter’s Patent”.
The dust cap is decoratively engraved and the movement and outer case have matching numbers, the dial and movement are signed.
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Diameter: 55 mm
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Dimensions: 230 x 95 mm
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Weight: 142 g
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Signed: Ralph Gout
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The ‘pocket watch with pedometer’ was developed by Ralph Gout and could be used as a pedometer while riding. The base plate is attached to the saddle. The watch itself swings up and down when the horse moves and registers the number of steps. The patent was registered under number 2351 on 4.11.1799. These watches are, in principle, extremely rare, with fewer than ten known examples, still retaining the pedometer case. The condition of this pedometer is museum quality! One known example is in the Rosenbach Museum.
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Gout
Ralph Gout (active 1770–1829) was a prominent London based watchmaker, clockmaker and inventor known for creating high status timepieces for international markets, particularly the Ottoman Empire, Spain and India. He is most famous for his innovative, patented “pedometer watches” designed to measure the steps of a person or a horse.