Antiquorum Auctioneers since 1974

Geneva, May 10, 2026

LOT 288

UNSIGNED, ENGLAND, AN EXCEPTIONAL 17TH-CENTURY SILVER VERGE WATCH — TECHNICAL MASTERPIECE WITH SINGLE HAND, SIX-HOUR DIAL, EXCEPTIONALLY RARE SUBSIDIARY SECONDS, AND MNEMONIC CALENDAR INDICATING DAY AND MONTH, SILVER

CHF 10,000 - 20,000

HKD 100,000 - 200,000 / USD 12,700 - 25,400 / EUR 10,900 - 21,700 / JPY 2,020,000 - 4,040,000

Sold: CHF 11,250

An exceptionally rare and highly unusual silver-cased, manual wind Open-face pocket watch with a six-hour dial, featuring a subsidiary seconds — a feature exceptionally rare for a verge watch of this period — and a mnemonic calendar showing the day of the week and the month, adjustable via two winding squares at 6 o’clock and 4 o’clock. The gilt full plate movement is fitted with a verge escapement. The silver champlevé dial presents a finely engraved six-hour layout adorned with trophies of war. The inner chapter ring bears raised Roman numerals for the hours, while the outer ring is divided into 60-minute sectors for each of the six hours. Additional apertures indicate the month and day of the week, with a sector calibrated 1–18–22–29. The watch is housed in a silver case hinged at twelve.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3-01

Good

HANDS Original

Brand Unsigned, England

Year Circa 1690

Caliber 36 mm., full plate, fire gilded brass, tulip pillars, fixed barrel, verge escapement, monometallic balance with three arms (polished steel) and blued steel flat early hairspring, pierced and engraved gilded continental “Louis XIV” cock, silver regulator disc.

Diameter 55 mm.

Weight 144 gr.

Accessories Original key

Notes

An exceptionally innovative and technically sophisticated creation, this remarkable watch combines a series of highly unusual features. The central hand ingeniously indicates both the hours and the minutes — the hours on a small inner ring and the minutes on the outer minute track. To achieve this design, the dial is divided into six-hour segments, each hour carefully subdivided into minutes along the outer scale.

Particularly rare for a verge watch of this period, a subsidiary seconds dial is positioned at 3 o’clock — a highly advanced feature for its time. The indications for the month and the day of the week can be adjusted independently through two winding squares located on the dial at 6 o’clock and 4 o’clock, demonstrating remarkable technical refinement and ingenuity.