English gold half hunting cased rack lever watch Circa 1817

Gold half hunting cased rack lever watch
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An English gold half hunting cased rack lever watch, circa 1817, gilded full plate movement, rack lever escapement, decoratively engraved balance cock with a basket of fruit at the neck and marked Patent, plain flat three-arm balance, diamond endstone, cylindrical pillars, plain gilt metal dust cap, movement signed Rt. Roskell, Liverpool.
White enamel dial, Arabic numerals outer minute ring, inner dial similarly calibrated for viewing through the glazed cover, winding aperture between 2 and 3 o’clock, gold spade hands.
Plain gold case, the cover with a glazed central aperture, Regency pendant and bow, hallmarked Chester 1817, and with maker’s mark TH incuse for Thomas Helsby, Liverpool.
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Diameter: 52 mm
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Signed: Rt. Roskell Liverpool
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This unusual half-hunting cased watch has a white enamel dial with two zones. The central zone allows the time to be read through the cover’s glazed aperture and the hour hand has an additional baluster towards its base so that the time may be easily read when the cover is closed. Robert Roskell was active from 1798 and worked in both London and Liverpool. He is especially well-known for the quality of his rack lever watches and later for watches with Massey’s lever escapements.
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Robert Roskell Liverpool and London. 1798-1830.