English pair cased verge coach watch with open face Circa 1750

Gilt metal and enamel watch by Marwick, Markham and Recordon
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An English gilt metal and enamel pair-cased verge coach watch made for the Ottoman market, circa 1740-1760.
This exquisite vintage watch boasts a full plate movement with a frosted and gilt finish, complete with a verge escapement for precise timekeeping. The outer case is adorned with beautifully crafted polychrome enamel-painted flowers, while the inner case is elegantly plain. The white enamel dial is adorned with a golden sun shape in the centre and features radial Ottoman numerals and blued steel hands. The watch was made by the Firm of Marwick, Markham, and Recordon, a renowned watchmaker in London. The movement is signed by Marwick Markham.
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Diameter: 121 mm
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Signed: Markwick Markham London
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Markwick Markham, James Markwick and his son James Jr. were both fine watchmakers and worked in London. The elder was apprenticed on 25 June 1656 to Richard Taylor and subsequently to Edward Gilpin. He became free of the Clockmakers’ Company on 6 August 1666. Six apprentices were bound to him between 1674 and 1699. In 1673 he succeeded the business of Samuel Betts behind the Royal Exchange. Although he held office in the Clockmakers’ Company, he was irregular in attendance, ceasing to tend to its affairs after 1700. He worked until at least 1706. His son, James Markwick Jr., became free of the Company in 1692 by patrimony. The younger James Markwick was an eminent maker, Master of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1720 and a very early user of jewelled bearings. Later, he was in partnership with his son-in-law Robert Markham, who succeeded him using the trading name of Markwick Markham, which became famous for watches destined for the Turkish market. Not only did this notoriety encourage the appearance of spuriously signed watches, but at the end of the century, Markham, or his successor, associated the names of other watchmakers with their own products intended for the East. The makers thus found associated are Francis Perigal, Peter Upjohn, H. Story, Borrell, John Johnson, Louis Recordon and Dupont. All were reputable watchmakers in their own right, selling other products under their own names.