English 22K gold pair-cased repoussé pocket watch Circa 1728

Gold verge watch by Thomas Windmills
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A very fine English 22K gold pair-cased pocket watch with a repoussé outer case, circa 1728-1729. Rinaldo & Armida by Windmills, London. Both cases with London hallmarks. Outer case: repoussé with master mark WS, the case back depicting Rinaldo and Armida, the border with repoussé foliate scrolls, the bezel decorated to match. Inner case: polished with master mark WS. Silver dial with champlevé radial Roman numerals, outer arcaded minute track with five-minute Arabic numerals in polished cartouches, the whole on a matte background, the centre with signature cartouche and blued steel beetle and poker hands. Frosted gilt full plate movement with square baluster pillars, fusee and chain, verge escapement, plain brass balance with flat balance spring, finely pierced and engraved singlefooted cock with a mask, polished steel endplate, regulation dial. Dial and movement signed.
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Diameter: 51 mm
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Signed: Thomas Windmills  London
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The outer repousse case of the present watch is particularly fine and heavy gauge. The workmanship can be attributed to the great gold-chaser Augustin Heckel. Another watch by T. Windmills with an outer case by Heckel is illustrated in: The Art of the Gold-Chaser in 18th Century London, Edgcumbe, 2000, fig. 49. A snuff box by Heckel with workmanship of comparable quality to this watch case is shown on plate III. Another fi ne gold repousse watch by Windmills (No. 8708) is punched with the same master mark WS and was sold by Antiquorum, Geneva, May 14th, 2006, lot 767. Thomas Windmills The son of Joseph Windmills, to whom he was apprenticed until 1693. He is recorded working until 173.
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Thomas Windmills, an English watchmaker
Thomas Windmills was the son of Joseph Windmills and Matilda Trulove. He was trained as a clockmaker from 1686 and acquitted by the Clockmakers Company in 1695. He was a master from 1719 to 1732. Thomas took over his father’s business and worked with four partners at various times until he died in 1737. Around 1720 he worked with Thomas Bennet in the Windmills & Bennet firm. Thomas Bennet was trained as a watchmaker at Windmills. Thomas Windmills had no children and was the last male line of the Windmills.