English silver and tortoiseshell digital verge watch Circa 1690-1700

Silver watch with digital hours and central minute hand by Richard Colston
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An English silver and tortoiseshell centre minutes pocket watch with digital hour display, circa 1690-1700.
Silver case covered with tortoiseshell and decorated with silver wire (piqué) depicting a coat of arms. This remarkable timepiece boasts a silver dial with several apertures, including one for the digital hours and another for the digital day of the month. The outer minute track is adorned with Arabic five-minute numerals, and a central blued steel hand indicates the minutes. The full plate movement of this timepiece is a true work of art, featuring applied floral decorations, frosted and gilt finishes, a chain fusee, tulip pillars, a verge escapement, and a three-arm steel balance with a blued balance spring. The balance cock is finely engraved and pierced with a mascaron, and a silver regulator disc completes the ensemble.
This magnificent timepiece was crafted by the renowned British watchmaker Richard Colston, who lived from 1652 to 1739. His signature is engraved on the face of the watch, along with the word LONDON. The movement is also marked with Colston’s name and numbered 738. The inner case of the watch bears the marking GN, which adds to its historical significance.
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Diameter: 51 mm
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Signed: Colston London
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Richard Colston, a watchmaker from England, was the son of the renowned clockmaker John Colston. Due to his father’s profession, he was exempted from the guild in July 1862 and became a member of the Clockmakers Company from 1682 to 1709. Colston designed and manufactured several clocks, including a tortoiseshell watch with piqué decoration that is now owned by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. The Metropolitan Museum of Art also has an intriguing clock by Colston that displays digital hours. Additionally, the Musée International d’Horlogerie features one of Colston’s clocks that indicates the time with the name of its owner, Richard Baugh, rather than numbers. The letter R of the first name is positioned at 1 o’clock. Richard Colston was also involved in the sale of table clocks, wall clocks, and grandfather clocks.