Circular pair-cased verge watch with mock pendulum balance

This pocket watch was manufactured by the French watchmaker David Lestourgeon. He emigrated to London from Rouen in around 1681. Lestourgeon, a Huguenot (Protestant), worshipped at one of the French churches in Spitalfields. The Huguenots brought with them to London important knowledge and skills from the major French clock and watch making centres.

The watch has a silver pair case. On the back of the outer case there is a coat of arms comprising a shield, helmet and crown beneath an arm raising a scythe. The arms, probably those of the watch's original owner, have subsequently been rubbed off the shield. The silver champlevé dial has an aperture through which the mock pendulum is visible. The movement features a verge escapement. On the back of the movement is a bust of William III, the date of his death (8th March 1702) and a skull and cross bones above the letter W.