Verge by N. Tatham, London, 1791

Gilt brass full-plate movement with verge escapement, pierced and engraved cock with solid foot and engraved surround to the Tompion regulator plate; signed N Tatham London / 3197. Round pillars. Gilt brass outer case with long narrow pendant and stirrup bow; silver inner case with indistinct London hallmarks, probably for 1791. White enamel dial, almost flat (unusually so for the period), with arabic chapter-ring and gold hands (the hour-hand is a substitute of early 19th-century type). Bullseye glass. Crude repair in upper part of dial. Diameter 55mm.

This watch illustrates the changes that came over watch design from about 1780 onwards: the increased size, the use of arabic figures on the dial, the solid (rather than pierced) cock-foot and regulator surround and the symmetrical cock design (not yet as crowded and fussy as it was to become by about 1810). Several Tathams are listed as active in London in the period 1790-95; probably they were brothers.

Left The gilding on the outer case (applied as a solution in mercury, and very much less durable than the electroplating or sandwiching techniques of a century later) has survived almost intact, with a patch of wear in the centre where the watch has probably rubbed against a table or bench.

Right This side view of the silver inner case shows the absence of the usual ‘waistline’ caused by friction between the two cases.

These two points suggest that, despite its rather forlorn appearance, the watch has been treated with remarkable care for most of its existence and indeed may never have been worn.