William Ilbery, (?-1839)Active in London from 1780 in Goswell Street, he moved to Duncan Terrace towards the end of the 18th century. Following James Cox in London and Jaquet Droz in Switzerland, he too specialized in the production of luxury watches for the Chinese market. His early production was very much in the English style, featuring a full plate movement and an English type single wheel duplex escapement; however, for his highest quality watches, he incorporated a spring detent escapement. The cases were also vey much in the style of those produced in England at the time. Later, along with Jaquet Droz's Swiss production signed in London and that of William Anthony who worked in London, the watch movements he produced were much inspired by the Lepine caliber with free-standing barrel. In fact he set a new standard for all watches made for the Asian market. He organized the production of profusely engraved movements in Switzerland, mainly in Fleurier; he was followed in this by makers such as Bovet and Jvet who also worked in Fleurier (Val de Travers). Bovet and Juvet organized the mass production of silver-cased watches and later, once their Canton manufactures were opened, they assembled these directly in China. Ilbery can therefore be considered the "father" of "Chinese" watches, as they are known today.The cases of his watches were decorated in Geneva by the best enamelers, such as Jean-Francois-Victor Dupont, who often signed his work, and Jean-Louis Richter, whose enamels were generally not signed. He seems to have maintained close contacts with the continental trade since a watch signed "Ilbery Paris" is known and Ilbery & Son are recorded in London and Fleurier, as well as in Canton. "Chinese" watches were often sold by pairs and therefore each pair was fitted in a specially designed box.henever such pairs of watches were enameled, they were always painted in a symmetrically opposed manner, like mirror images.