GEORGE CRESSWELL (LONDON) 72mm Antique Turkish Triple Case Tortoise and Silver Doctors Display Verge Fusee Key Wind & Key Set

Description

REMARKS: Very special antique English Verge Fusee Pocket Watch made for the Turkish/Ottoman Market in the 1700s.   This antique pocket watch combines Triple Cases often found in top grade Turkish Pocket Watches with Doctors Watch Display and Hack Seconds.  The outer case measures 72mm in diameter. Nearly all of the 18^th Century Verge Fusee Watches with more than 2 cases were all exported from England and Continental Europe to the Ottoman Empire as clientele preferred the multi-case design. This resulted in some of the most ornate the uniquly-styled watches known as Key-Wind Turkish Pocket Watches. This particular example has 3 cases where the outermost case was made from silver and tortoise (sea-turtle) shell. The tortoise shell also has been adored with pique pin-work on the edges.   Inside the watch it is signed with George Cresswell, London and this appears to be a verge fusee watch from the 1760-1780s. What’s the most special about the mechanism is the fact that it’s a Doctor’s Watch where the hour & minute dial is displayed as the same size as the second dial.   The rationale for such a display was that doctors and/or engineers needed to focus on timing the seconds more than normal users hence the larger proportioned second dial. The watch also comes with a hack second function at around 4 o’clock so the second hand can be stopped and started at will.

CONDITION REPORT: Condition-wise this watch is winding and ticking as it should for a 250 years old watch. Verge Fusees were capable timekeepers for their times but certainly not comparable in accuracy with later lever/anchor watches. We do not offer any functional guarantee for antique pocket watches and we leave the decision and sole responsibility of service/maintenance to the end-user. Cosmetically it is in excellent condition for its age where the tortoise shell outer case is fully intact with only a few smaller cracks. This condition is rare in itself as most tortoise shell cases damage easily and break off the case. The inner silver cases are all in great shape, and the enamel dial has a few scratches and no significant functional issues. The outer tortoise shell case measures 72mm, the middle silver case 60.5mm, and 40.5mm for the inner silver case. No key will be included for this sale.