French/English gold pre hairspring verge watch Circa 1660/1730

Gold and enamel pendant watch
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A very fine French/English 22K gold and painted on enamel pendant watch with a filigree gold outer protective case, circa 1660/1730. Movement, made specially for the case, gilt brass full plate with square baluster pillars, fusee with chain, verge escapement, plain three-arm brass balance with flat spring, English cock, pierced and engraved with asymmetrical scrolling foliage, a shell at the base, silvered regulation dial.
Case with curved band painted on enamel with figures within Claudian landscapes, the back with a scene of the two lovers Rinaldo and Armida, he holding a mirror. The inside of the case decorated with grisailles painted on enamel of a couple in a pastoral landscape. Gold pendant and bow.
White enamel dial, radial Roman numerals, outer minute ring and five-minute Arabic numerals. Blued steel beetle and poker hands, the minute hand made to pass over the winding arbour. Movement signed and numbered.
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Diameter: 41 mm
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Signed: Movement by William Webster, London 1730. Case probably French 1660
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William Webster a maker of great repute, apprentice and journeyman of Thomas Tompion, known for his excellent workmanship. Webster must have been very closely connected with Tompion, for the only early reference to Tompion’s death was Webster’s note in the London Gazette on November 24, 1713. In 1734 he was elected Junior Warden of the Clockmakers Company. He died in 1734 and the business was carried on by the equally respected William Webster II. It was a common practice in the eighteenth century to replace the movement in a particularly expensive or beautiful watch case, in order to take advantage of technological advances in horology. Examples can be found in numerous museums and private collections.