WINDMILLS – RINALDO & ARMIDA Windmills

WINDMILLS – RINALDO & ARMIDA Windmills, London, case No. 8603. Both cases with London hallmarks for 1728-29. Very fine, pair-cased, 22K gold pocket watch with repoussé outer case. Outer: repoussé, (master mark WS), the case back depicting Rinaldo and Armida, border with repoussé foliate scrolls, the bezel decorated to match. Inner: two-body, "bassine", (master mark WS), polished. Silver champlevé radial Roman numerals, outer arcaded minute track with fi ve-minute Arabic numerals in polished cartouches, the whole on matte background, the center with signature cartouche. Blued steel "beetle and poker " hands. 35 mm, frosted gilt full plate with square baluster pillars, fusee and chain, verge escapement, plain brass balance with fl at balance spring, fi nely pierced and engraved singlefooted cock with a mask, polished steel endplate, regulation dial. Dial and movement signed. Diam. 51 mm. Notes The outer repousse case of the present watch is particularly fi ne and heavy gauge. The workmanship can be attributed to the great gold-chaser Augustin Heckel. Another watch by T. Windmills (No. 8370) with outer case by Heckel is illustrated in : The Art of the Gold-Chaser in 18th Century London, Edgcumbe, 2000, fi g. 49. A snuff-box by Heckel with workmanship of comparable quality to this watch case is shown on plate III. Another fi ne gold repousse watch by Windmills (No. 8708) is punched with the same master mark WS and was sold by Antiquorum, Geneva, May 14th, 2006, lot 767.