English silver pair cased two train alarm verge Circa 1760

Silver pair cased two-train alarm verge watch
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An English fine silver pair cased two train alarm verge watch, circa 1760, gilded full plate movement, verge escapement, decoratively pierced and floral engraved masked balance cock, diamond endstone, fusee and chain, cylindrical pillars, alarm striking on a bell to the inside case back, gilt metal dust cap, dust cap, and movement signed Robt. Fleetwood, London.
White enamel dial, Roman numerals, outer Arabic minute ring, blued steel beetle and poker hands, female setting square for alarm between 3 and 4 o’clock with corresponding blued steel arrow head alarm hand • signed Fleetwood, London
Silver inner case pierced and engraved with floral decoration inhabited by dolphins’ heads, a grotesque mask to the base and pastoral scene beneath the pendant, winding for alarm and going trains either side of a central engraved floral bouquet, case maker’s mark IW for John Wright, outer silver case with pierced and engraved bezels with floral engraved decoration
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Diameter: 53 mm
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Signed: Robt. Fleetwood London

This unusual alarm watch, made around 1760, uses a female setting square to adjust the central alarm indicator hand, rather than the manually set disc which was commonplace prior to this period. The well finished alarm mechanism is reminiscent of Stogden’s repeating work and strikes a bell to the inside case back.

F.J. Britten records Robert Fleetwood as being a member of the Goldsmiths Company with two addresses – Featherstone Buildings, Holborn in 1760, and 13 Abchurch Lane in 1766.
Britten also notes Fleetwood’s death in 1789.