English gold keyless winding duplex with date Circa 1848

Early keyless winding duplex watch with date and eccentric seconds
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A rare English gold half hunter cased early keyless winding duplex watch with date and eccentric seconds, circa 1848, gilded three quarter plate movement, duplex escapement, decoratively engraved balance cock, bi metallic compensation balance, keyless work visible to the backplate, signed E. J. Dent, Watchmaker to the Queen, London, Patent, plate adjacent to balance cock signed AN/JC for Adolphe Nicole and Jules Capt. Gold dial with matte stippled center, chapter ring with a circular satin finish, Roman numerals, similarly finished subsidiary seconds at 9 o’clock, blued steel moon hands with spade section for half hunter view, date aperture below 12 o’clock.
Gold case, both covers engine turned, the front with glazed aperture surrounded by polished chapter ring with blue enamel Roman numerals, milled band, case back with London 18 Carat gold hallmarks for 1848, case back and cover with maker’s mark AN for Adolphe Nicole.
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Diameter: 49 mm
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Signed: E. J. Dent Watchmaker to the Queen London Patent
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Adolphe Nicole’s patent number 10348 of October 1844 for keyless winding and hand-set was registered in April 1845. By 1846, E. Dent and Co. had acquired the patent rights from Nicole and became the sole licensee. The present watch is an especially early example of the application of this patent. Vaudrey Mercer in his book, Edward John Dent and his Successors, devotes a short chapter to the patent and illustrates diagrams taken from the application. The winding mechanism is visible to the backplate and is of the early form, with the intermediate wheel permanently engaged with the center wheel. The hand setting mechanism is activated via a nib-piece in the band and allows the hands to be moved forwards only.