German gold precision watch with 8 day movement Circa 1800

Open faced pocket watch with cylinder escapement
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An important heavy and very fine German precision pocket watch with 8 day movement driven by two barrels and two chains/fusee, circa 1800.
Outer case is brass gilt, tortoiseshell. Inner case is 18k gold, tiered, polished, case maker punch mark “PHMI”, signed movement protection cap. Dial is enamel, Arabic numerals, central date, finely ornamented gold hands. Full plate movement, keywind, frosted, gilt, signed, 2 barrels/ 2 chains/ 1 fusee, solid pillars, cylinder escapement, three arm steel balance, slim balance cock, engraved regulator scale, chatoned diamond endstone on balance.
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Diameter: 59 mm
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Weight: 214 g
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Signed: Johann Heinrich Seyffert á Dresden
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Seyffert no. 71
This important watch is remarkable in more than one respect. There is of course its excellentcondition; but even more interesting is the fact that the watch is driven by two barrels and two chains/fusée. We have only seen this design in on other clock – the portable precision pendulum clock no. 2 by Johann Heinrich Seyffert dating to 1801. Reinhard Meis describes the clock in his book “100 Jahre Uhrenindustrie in Glashütte von 1845-1945” on page 30 et seqq. and believes the second barrel to be a later addition. However, his assumption is refuted by the fact that Seyffert had already produced this watch with its identical driving mechanism a year earlier. It is more than likely that he used the pocket watch as a model for his famous portable pendulum clock.

Johann Heinrich Seyffert (1751-1817)
Seyffert was the most eminent Saxon watchmaker of his time, even though he probably never passed his master’s examination. In 1801 Seyffert became inspector of the Mathematical-Physical Salon. He is considered the “secret and unappointed” watchmaker to King Frederick Augustus I, who also protected Seyffert from the Dresden clockmakers company that wanted to bar him from carrying on his craft because of his missing apprentice certificates. Seyffert sold most of his watches to the royal family, scientists and explorers. One of his customers was Alexander von Humboldt, who bought an important pocket chronometer of exceptional accuracy for his expeditions.