English silver and paste set verge pocket watch Circa 1780

Silver and paste set verge watch made for the Chinese market
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A silver and paste set verge watch made for the Chinese market, circa 1780, gilt full plate verge movement with applied pierced and engraved silver decoration signed Williamson, glazed balance bridge, steel three-arm balance, ruby endstone.
White enamel dial, Roman numerals, Arabic outer, silver case pavé set with spiral design of red and clear paste.
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Diameter: 47 mm
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Signed: Williamson
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For a similar example, by Williamson, see Les Montres du Musée du Louvre, Tome I, La Collection Olivier, Catherine Cardinale, described and illustrated (Inv. 0A 8364). cat. no. 168, p. 151. The case of the watch in the Louvre collection differs from the present lot by being set with yellow and white stones rather than the red and white stones found on this lot.

Timothy Williamson, is recorded as a London watch and clockmaker active between 1769 and 1790. He specialized in the production of automata and decorative watches and clocks for the Chinese Market and is known to have made pieces for the  Emperor Qianlong.

For a listing of his work for China, see Catherine Pagani, Eastern Magnificence & European Ingenuity, Clocks of Late Imperial China.