English gold pocket watch with duplex escapement Circa 1811

Gold duplex by Smith & Asprey
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A varicoloured gold English pocket watch with duplex escapement, signed by Smith & Asprey London, circa 1811-1812. Gold dial with Roman numerals and it has engine-turned and chased movement with duplex escapement, subsidiary dial, a chain/fusee, a plain three-arm steel balance and a temperature-compensating balance spring.
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Signed: Smith & Asprey   London
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Smith & Asprey
The history of the Smith & Asprey workshop, active pocket watchmakers in London around 1810, is deeply tied to the foundational, transitional period of the iconic British luxury house, Asprey of London. Rather than a lifelong, standalone watch factory, the workshop existed as a highly specialized, early 19th century retail partnership that leveraged London’s traditional “collaborative” watchmaking network.
By 1822, trade directories show that the partnership had dissolved, and William Asprey took over the Bruton Street premises entirely under his own name.