English silver verge watch with mock pendulum Circa 1702

Silver watch with mock pendulum by David Lestourgeon
–
An English silver pair cased verge watch with a mock pendulum, circa 1702. The watch features a gilt movement with split Egyptian pillars and a verge escapement. The movement is inverted in its case, so the balance is directly under the dial. A bob attached to the balance shows through a crescent-shaped slot in the dial, creating an illusion of a true pendulum’s oscillations. The silver champlevé dial has an eccentric chapter ring at 12 o’clock, Roman radial hours; outer minutes track with Arabic five minutes numerals; an aperture below with a mock pendulum, apertures for the date, blued steel hands, and reserves engraved with scrolls. The watch has a plain silver inner and outer case.
–
The face of the watch is signed LESTOVRGEON · LONDON, and the movement is signed David Lestourgeon London. The watch also has an inscription of a pendulum bearing the bust of William III with an inscription stating Gulielmus/Tertius/Oblit 8 to die Martis, 1792.
–
Diameter: 54 mm
–
Signed: David Lestourgeon London
–
David Lestourgeon, a master clockmaker from Rouen, France, made the watch. He moved to London in 1681, likely due to the increasing intolerance of Protestants in France, and became a member of the London Clockmakers’ Company in 1698.
–
Pendulum watches like this one are a testament to the success of the pendulum clock, although they employ a standard balance for controlling the escapement. The case maker is possibly Hugh Richardson (recorded 1704) or Henry Rawlings (recorded 1706).