English gold skeletonized watch with Jacquemarts Circa 1800

Gold quarter repeating verge watch
–
An attractive English 18 carat three coloured gold quarter repeating verge pocket watch with three Jacquemarts á trois couleurs, circa 1800. Full plate movement, keywound, two hammers, two gongs and three armed brass balance. Dial with white enamel chapter ring with Arabic hours, the top half of the two part gold Jacquemarts shows an opening in the form of a balcony with automaton, a bearded man strikes the hours onto a bell with a hammer, the lower half shows a galant couple, in period costume, striking the quarters. Engine turned case.
–
Diameter: 55 mm
–
Weight: 130 g
–
Signed: Shuttleworth London
–
The automaton Jacks on the dial refer to the Medieval way of public time announcing which was by real people striking every hour on a bell situated at the top of the city tower. Later, life size robots called Jacquemarts or Jacks, amused the people by striking bells in large public clocks, of which, probably, the most famous is the one in Venice at Piaza San Marco and the oldest (1383) in the tower of Dijon.