English rare silver watch with enamel painting Circa 1760

English interesting repoussé verge watch
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A rare and interesting repoussé verge watch with enamel painting, made by John Wilter in London, England, circa 1760. The full hunter pair case of this watch is crafted from silver, the outer case has a fine repoussé work with an enamel plaque in the center. The inner plain case has the maker’s mark EC above the case number. The champlevé dial with date window has an outer ring with Arabic minute numerals (outside) and Roman hour numerals (inside) and the probably original hands. The movement has a verge escapement.
Case and movement have matching numbers and dial and movement are signed
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Diameter: 54 mm
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Weight: 131 g
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Signed: Wilter, London 
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John Wilter
In his book, Brian Loomes describes John Wilter as a watchmaker who was active in London from 1760 to 1784 and presumably produced many verge pocket watches for the Dutch market. Other sources say that John Wilter is a made up name because they see no proof that the man was truly a watchmaker or that he even existed. In that context his pieces are often labelled ‘Dutch forgeries’, these are contemporary forgeries of English watches dating from the second half of the 18^th century that were usually made in continental Europe. The watches were of inferior quality and signed with a fictitious English name and the designation London for marketing reasons. Some timepieces made by John Wilter belong to important museums and collections such as the British Museum in London.