Beschreibung:

Three similar Dutch gilt brass verge pocket watch movements Two bearing signature for Tarts, London, the third for Demelais, London Each with gilt full plate single fusee verge movement with four square section baluster pillars pinned through the backplate, scroll-pierced stop-iron block and sprung three-arm balance, the backplate with foliate scroll pierced and engraved balance bridge and conforming engraved infill around the silvered regulation disc, two bearing signatures J. Tarts and Tarts, London and numbered 255 and 14204 respectively with the first fitted with circular white Roman enamel Roman numeral dial painted with a coastal shipping scene to centre and the second with silver champleve dial with repeat signature and calendar aperture to scroll blind fret decorated centre within Roman numeral chapter ring within arcaded minute ring and cartouche Arabic five minutes, both with pillar plate approx 35mm (1.375ins) diameter; the third movement bearing signature Demelais, London to backplate, with white enamel Roman numeral dial featuring arcaded minute ring and pillar plate measuring 39mm (1.5ins) in diameter, (3). The three watch movements in the current lot are typical examples of Dutch timepieces produced during the mid to late 18th century signed with 'spurious' London signatures. One diagnostic feature is that on such examples the layout of the regulation tends to vary slightly from typical English practice resulting in the silvered regulation disc being positioned on the opposite side of the movement (to the left rather than the right when viewed with balance bridge uppermost). In addition to this the presence of the signature 'Tarts, London' would also suggest Dutch origins as it seems that this was a fictitious name specifically used by Dutch makers to give the impression that the watch was of English manufacture.