Japanese 18 carat gold miniature pair case verge watch Circa 1750

An unusual miniature with Toki dial
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A very unusual miniature pair case verge watch with Toki dial, made in Japan, circa 1750. This plain pair cased watch was crafted from 18 carat gold and has a Toki dial with sliding hours and blued iron hands. The movement has a verge escapement.
The movement is signed in Japanese.
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Diameter: 25 mm
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Weight: 21 g
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Miniature verge watches with a pair case are extremely rare. Hardly any watches of these Japanese Toki watches are known in the pocket watch version. They are an absolute rarity.
How the Toki markings work: The gold dial has twelve adjustable silver Toki markers with inlaid Japanese numerals 4-9 in duplicate. In Japanese watches, the hours from noon to midnight are counted backwards from 9 to 4. The Toki markers are normally mounted on a rotating disc and are adjusted to the length of day and night throughout the year according to sunrise and sunset and are indicated by a single, fixed hand.
The miniature watch shown here has two moving hands that indicate the hours and minutes, corresponding to the European time display.