English very rare duplex made for the Chinese market Circa 1818

Gold and enamel duplex by William Anthony
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A very rare and very fine gold enamel English pocket watch with duplex escapement for the Chinese market, circa 1818.
The round case is 18 carat gold: the back cover lavishly engine turned and with translucent bordeaux enamelling; central opaque polychrome enamelled flower bouquet in a wicker basket, with a scalloped narrow border of white enamel; back and front outer borders, pendant and bow with blue, white and partly turquoise champlevé enamel; engine turned band; and case maker’s punch mark “TW” (possibly Thoms Walker of London). The numbered dial is enamel with radial Roman hours, auxiliary seconds and spade gold hands. And the full plate movement is lavishly florally engraved, frosted, gilt and keywind, with chain fusee, moulded movement pillars, duplex escapement, three arm steel balance, fine florally engraved balance cock with engraved regulator scale and set diamond end stone.
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Diameter: 53 mm
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Weight: 130 g
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Signed: William Anthony, London
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William Anthony
William Anthony (1765-1844) worked in Red Lion Street, St. John’s Square, Clerkenwell, and specialised in watches for the Chinese market. Watches by William Anthony very rarely appear on the market. From a study of the public collections and the auction market over the last 50 years we learn that only 17 oval watches (from which 6 with expanding hands) and 15 round watches are known to exist. Most of them were or still are part of famous collections as the Collection of King Farouk of Egypt, the Sir David Salomon Collection, the Marryat Collection, the Sandoz Collection at Musée du Locle, the Lord Sandberg Collection, the Patek Philippe Museum. One oval watch was sold in the Belin Collection at Sotheby’s London, in November 1979, lot 100 as the most expensive lot of the sale and recorded as the most expensive watch of the year.