Rare English silver and tortoiseshell verge watch Circa 1680

Rare silver and tortoiseshell pair cased verge watch
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A rare English silver and tortoiseshell pair cased verge watch, circa the early 1680s, gilded full plate movement, verge escapement, decoratively pierced balance cock engraved with a bird of paradise amongst scrolling foliage, flat balance with spring, silver regulator disc, fusee and chain, tulip pillars, signed John Knibb att Oxon.
Silver champlevé dial, Roman numerals with half-hour divisions between and to the ring beneath, outer Arabic minute ring with further gilt ring above, rosette to the center, blued steel tulip and poker hands.
Plain silver inner case, the back with shuttered winding aperture, ring pendant and bow, split bezel for glass retention, case maker’s mark SB (Samuel Bowtell) and numbered 56, outer case with under-painted tortoiseshell inlaid with silver stems, leaves, rondels, and engraved silver flowers, birds and possibly vine leaves.
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Diameter: 53 mm
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Signed: John Knibb att Oxon
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John Knibb (b.1650-d.1722) was apprenticed to his brother Joseph in Oxford from about 1664, became active on his own behalf by 1675 and made mayor of Oxford twice. A famous clockmaker, John appears to have made very few watches and the present piece must be one of his earliest. The movement has an early balance spring and the foot of the cock is of an early form without border. Samuel Bowtell, whose mark is found in the inner case, was free of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1681 and his mark appears on the Goldsmiths’ Company registration plate of 1682.

The under-painting to the tortoiseshell of the outer case enhances its natural features and the tortoiseshell is glued and pinned to the case in the traditional manner. Within this outer case is a rare paper table headed December XXXI, showing the saints’ days, the dates for the four states of the moon and the equation of time for the month.