English shagreen verge watch with hidden portrait Circa 1710

Silver, enamel, and shagreen verge watch by Claude Viet
–
An English silver pair cased, verge watch featuring a silver and shagreen outer case with a hidden enamel portrait, circa 1710. This watch features a verge movement with a chain fusée and a balance cock adorned with an enamel portrait of a lady smoking a long pipe. It has a silvered champlevé dial with radial Roman numerals for the hours, an outer minute track with five-minute Arabic numerals, a chased and engraved centre, and steel beetle and poker hands. The watch is housed in two cases: a silver hinged inner case and a shagreen outer case. Dial and movement signed.
–
Diameter: 57 mm
–
Signed: Viet
–
The watch movement is functional. The dial shows some tarnishing. The inner case has a repair at the pendant, and the outer shagreen case exhibits normal wear consistent with the watch’s age.
–
Claude Viet, an English watchmaker originally from Orléans, was a notable Huguenot clockmaker. He was the son of Jean Viet and Marie Cuper. Although the exact date of his move to London is unknown, records show he married Marie-Anne De La Neufmaison in 1696. Together, they had potentially nine children: Marianne, Elizabeth, Abraham-Claude (who passed away), Abraham, Jean-Claude, Marie-Madeleine, Jean, Abraham Claude, and Suzanne. In 1698, Claude was granted freedom from the London clockmakers’ guild. On January 17, 1714, his daughter Marianne Viet began a seven-year apprenticeship under her father, a rare opportunity for women at the time. Marianne later married jeweller Thomas Mitchell, and they established the company Mitchell & Viet in Cornhill, London. Her sister, Susanne Viet, also married a Mitchell, possibly Thomas’s brother. Claude Viet trained other apprentices, including Adam Dhinisseau starting on September 1, 1701, and Claude Renou from October 12, 1710. Residing on Threadneedle Street, Claude served as a clockmaker to Queen Anne and passed away in 1734.
–
It is possible that Claude was related to Paul Viet (1604-1656), a goldsmith and watchmaker in Blois, whose descendants Charlemagne I (1647-1695) and Charlemagne II (circa 1700) also pursued watchmaking. Additionally, a watchmaker named Jacobus Viet was active in Rotterdam between 1730 and 1750.