English silver seashell shaped pendant watch Circa 1650
- Kenmerk
- TA1159
- Diameter
- -
- Estimate
- € 15.000 - 30.000
- Price sold
- € 19.350
Silver oval single hand verge watch
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A very fine and very rare English silver, oval, pre-balance spring, single-hand pendant watch, circa 1650. Case in the form of a seashell with concealed dial by Humfrey Downing London. Oval case with deep back, chased and engraved to resemble a seashell, small pendant, loose ring. Dial with a silver ring and champlevé radial Roman numerals, inner quarter ring, fleur-de-lys half hour markers, fixed to silver dial plate very finely engraved with flowers. Blued steel tulip hand. Full plate gilt brass movement, slender divided Egyptian pillars, fusee and gut, short train, verge escapement, circular steel foliot, irregular small footed pinned cock, worm gear mainspring set-up with silver calibrated plate. Signed on the back plate.
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Dimensions: 42 x 34 mm
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Signed: Humfrey Downing London
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Humfrey Downing was apprenticed to Robert Grinkin in 1637. Although Loomes, in his monumental work on early watchmakers, stated that there was no known surviving watch by him, we know of another one in the Ruscitti collection (No. 9 in his catalogue published by the Instituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, Firenze, 1998), as well as the present watch.
Signed: Humfrey Downing London






















