English large 18 Carat gold double case verge watch Circa 1800

Pocket watch with repetition on a bell
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A large gold double case verge watch with repetition on a bell, made by Eardley Norton in London, England, circa  1800. The open faced double case is made of 18 Carat gold and the probably later protective case made is made of  metal and has a leather cover. The original case has very fine sound openings, a slide to turn off the repeater, a bell and an original dust cover. The original white enamel dial has Arabic 15 minute – and Roman hour numerals and  the original beautiful arrow hands which are made of red gold. The magnificently engraved movement has a verge escapement with an hour and quarter hour repeater.
The dial is signed.
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Diameter: 60 mm
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Weight: 153 g
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Signed: Eardley Norton, London
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Eardley Norton
Eardley Norton was an English watch and chronometer maker of great repute born in 1728 in Lincolnshire and died in 1792. He apprenticed as a clockmaker on 25 May 1743 to Robert Dawson of Alford, in 1760, he was working in London at 49 St. John Street, Clerkenwell and was a member of the Clockmakers’ Company from 1770 until he died. He mainly made complicated timepieces but also had his name on some cheaper watches, which he signed with Yeldrae (Eardley backwards). His name was further sometimes faked on Swiss watches. In 1771, he patented a new type of striking mechanism for clocks and watches. For George III he made a Royal watch collection of which the showpiece was an astronomical clock with four dials. Norton received 1.042 pounds sterling for these watches, a considerable sum at that time. Another notable work is the musical clock he made for the Russian Tsarina Katharina.