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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Pocket watch · Pair cased verge pocket watch

David Lestourgeon pair-cased eight-day verge watch with six-hour dial

Partially verified

This antique pair-cased verge pocket watch, circa 1700, is signed by London maker David Lestourgeon. It features a silver champlevé six-hour dial with Roman numerals for hours 1 to 6 containing concentric Arabic numerals for hours 7 to 12, complemented by an outer 1-12 Arabic numeral track, date aperture, and blued steel hands. Housed within a plain silver inner case measuring 47 mm and an outer tortoiseshell-covered case measuring 56 mm with silver pins, it encases a gilded full-plate fusee movement with crested Egyptian pillars and an intricately pierced balance cock.

Dial view of the watch housed within its pin-studded tortoiseshell outer case
Dial view of the watch housed within its pin-studded tortoiseshell outer case — Sotheby's. Rights pending — permission not yet requested. Original source

Catalogue identity

Source
www.sothebys.com
Category
Pocket watch · Pair cased verge pocket watch
Maker / attribution
David Lestourgeon
Reference
Not recorded
Catalogue / lot identifier
61
Source-reported date
Circa 1700
Country
United Kingdom

Source-reported attribution and specifications are not independent authentication. A listing does not establish present ownership, current display, availability or permission to reproduce.

Object description

Dial Configuration and Inscriptions

The watch is fitted with a silver champlevé six-hour dial. The primary chapter ring bears Roman numerals for hours 1 to 6, with each numeral additionally calibrated with Arabic numerals in their centres representing hours 7 to 12. This is surrounded by an outer ring graduated with Arabic numerals 1-12, read by blued steel hands.

The dial centre features a stippled ground decorated with chased and engraved scrolling banners signed 'Letvrgeon [sic] London'. An aperture with a blued steel surround displays the date disc, visually observed positioned above the lower numeral 6.

Evidence for this section
  • “silver champlevé, Roman numerals for hours 1 to 6 each additionally calibrated with Arabic numerals to their centres for hours 7 to 12, outer ring with Arabic numerals 1-12”
  • “aperture for date with blued steel surround, dial centre with stippled ground and with chased and engraved scrolling banners, blued steel hands, signed Letvrgeon [sic] London”
  • “Aperture above the lower 6 position showing a date disc framed in blued steel”

Case Construction and Dual Housings

The timekeeper utilizes a pair-case construction comprising a plain silver inner case and a tortoiseshell-covered protective outer case. The inner case measures 47 mm in diameter, features a shuttered winding aperture at the back, and is fitted with a stirrup-form pendant and bow which the catalogue notes is a later addition.

The outer protective case measures 56 mm in diameter and has a tortoiseshell covering with the back and bezel secured with silver pins, visible as evenly spaced pin studs around the front bezel. The source records a case maker's mark 'JH', noted as possibly indicating John Harbert or John Higgs.

Evidence for this section
  • “plain silver inner, shuttered winding aperture to back, later stirrup-form pendant and bow”
  • “outer protective case with tortoiseshell covering, back and bezel secured with silver pins, case maker's mark JH possibly John Harbert or John Higgs”
  • “diameter of outer case 56mm, inner 47mm”
  • “Tortoiseshell-clad outer case held by evenly spaced silver pin studs around the bezel”

Movement Architecture and Attributions

The movement is catalogued as an eight-day gilded full-plate calibre with a verge escapement, fusee, and chain. It features crested Egyptian pillars, a silver regulation disc, and a decoratively pierced balance cock engraved with scrolling foliage and a central urn.

The movement plate is signed 'David Lestourgeon, London'. Because the movement and the reverse of the cases are not shown in the single frontal image, their internal construction and hallmarks are documented solely based on the auction catalogue description.

Evidence for this section
  • “Movement: gilded full plate, verge escapement, decoratively pierced balance cock engraved with scrolling foliage and an urn to the centre, silver regulation disc, crested Egyptian pillars, fusee and chain, signed David Lestourgeon, London”
  • “David Lestourgeon, London A Silver Pair Cased Eight-Day Verge Watch With Six Hour Dial And Tortoiseshell Outer Case, Circa 1700”

Open research questions

  • Does the 'JH' punch on the case correspond clearly to John Harbert or John Higgs when compared with recorded early 18th-century London casemakers' marks?
  • How is the eight-day duration gear train configured within the full-plate layout alongside the six-hour dial and calendar mechanisms?
  • What signs of modification or resoldering exist around the pendant mount from the later replacement of the stirrup-form bow and pendant?

Source evidence

Recorded claims and source quotations for David Lestourgeon pair-cased eight-day verge watch with six-hour dial
FieldSource-reported valueSource quotation
EscapementVerge escapement“Movement: gilded full plate, verge escapement”
Outer Case Diameter56 mm“diameter of outer case 56mm”
Inner Case Diameter47 mm“inner 47mm”
Outer Case MaterialTortoiseshell covering secured with silver pins“outer protective case with tortoiseshell covering, back and bezel secured with silver pins”
ProvenanceSotheby's New York, Fine Watches from the Atwood Collection, 11 December 1986, lot 34“Provenance Sotheby's New York, Fine Watches from the Atwood Collection , 11 December 1986, lot 34”
Maker Freedom DateAdmitted as a Free Brother of the Clockmakers' Company in 1698“David Lestourgeon was admitted as a Free Brother of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1698 and is believed to have been working as late as 1731.”
Maker Secondary TradeInnholder“research carried out by Clive Ponsford into the wills of watch and clockmakers held at the National Archives, shows that Lestourgeon was both a Watchmaker and Innholder [see: Antiquarian Horology , Vol. 30, No.4, December 2007, p. 525].”

Visible details

  • Tortoiseshell-clad outer case held by evenly spaced silver pin studs around the bezel
  • Silver champlevé dial with central scrolling banners bearing 'LETVRGEON' and 'LONDON'
  • Aperture above the lower 6 position showing a date disc framed in blued steel
  • Elongated stirrup-shaped pendant and bow mounted atop the silver inner case

Research qualifications

  • Source notes the stirrup-form pendant and bow are later additions
  • Case maker's mark 'JH' is tentatively attributed to either John Harbert or John Higgs
  • Rear of the outer case is not shown in the provided photographs

Photograph identity and source facts were screened before import; rights clearance remains pending.

Consulted source

David Lestourgeon, London | A Silver Pair Cased Eight-Day Verge Watch

Reviewed 2026-10-21 · Record dd60c1d611

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Glossary explanations for terms named in this object’s record.

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