The Kreizer family became a veritable dynasty of watchmakers, with at least four apparently bearing the sanie christian name. Some uncertainty exists as to whether Conrad III and IV were not in fact the same person, but certainly one of the Kreizer's occupied the position of clockmaker to the Knights of the Grand Cross of Malta. and indeed several watches signed by Kreizer use their characteristic cross as the form for the pendant. The watch now offered for sale has a pendant of similar construction, perhaps the form used for watches destined for 'secular' clients, but in all other aspects it is typical of his work. Accurately dating certain watches by Kreizer can be difficult, as he appears to have continued to produce pieces of 16th. century design long after they were superceded, perhaps due to the requirements of his important client, which would certainly have brought him wide recognition. Certain interesting features of the movement tend to support a date from the second quarter of the 17th. century. In the first instance the stackfreed has been abandoned in favour of a fusee, with clear signs that it carried an early chain ( five turns only ), but the bristle regulator is retained. This is not unique, as a similar feature exists on a German origin movement in enamelled case sold by this house on 12 April 1992, lot 562, which was coincidentally signed with the initiais N. K and tentatively attributed to the Kreuzer (sic) family, and also certainly made for a Mediterranean religious order. Finally the potance supporting the crown wheel front pivot is adjustable, presumably to control the depthing of the escapement, and although this now has a removeable bush slip, the support itself is attached by two screws and has every appearance of being original; a development of the system occasionally employed in the 16th. century, but apparently not applied to watches until the 18th. century by Julien Leroy.