Dutch 18 carat gold Repoussé verge pocket watch Circa 1730

Gold open faced verge pocket watch
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Very fine pair cased verge pocket watch with “repoussé” decoration “Salomon and Sheba” circa 1730.
The outer case is 18 Carat gold, “repoussé” decoration with chiselled case maker’s punch mark “JAB”. The inner case is also gold,  white enamel dial, fine full plate movement, chain/fusee, four arm steel balance, silver balance cock with chased emblem showing a harvesting scene.
The clock is magnificent and the signed outer case hardly shows any wear. The engraved scene is perfectly executed and the white enamel dial is virtually immaculate with typical Dutch arcaded minutes. The exquisitely engraved movement is decorated with delicately open worked silver pillars. The engraved silver balance bridge is particularly striking  it shows a harvesting scene with a mower with a scythe and cut stalks of corn; motto “Muneris Omne Tui”. A mock pendulum is visible in a kidney-shaped glazed aperture.
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Diameter: 55 mm
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Weight: 151 g
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Signed:  Pieter Gib  Rotterdam
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William Gib was born in 1673 or 1674, either in Scotland or in England. He was a renowned maker of many good quality longcase clocks, wall clocks, bracket clocks and pocket watches. Around 1700 he was married to Anna Rommilius (also Romelius) in Rotterdam; the couple had 10 children. Between 1709 and 1735 Gib several times held the position of chairman of the St. Eloi guild. From 1716 to his death Gib worked at Vissersdijk, Noordblaak in Rotterdam, where he had bought a house. His sons Willem and Pieter also became watch- and clockmakers in Rotterdam. Gib’s house was demolished in 1880, with only three memorial stones remaining in the gable of the museum.