George Graham, London/Louis Comtesse, London - Open-Faced Cylinder Pocket Watch
18ct gold

Movement date: c.1730
Case date: 1804-1805
Movement: George Graham (c.1673-1751) A fine full gilt plate cylinder fusee, the pierced and engraved balance cock with engraved grotesque mask, chased and engraved top plate, ornated script signature, signed 'Geo. Graham London', silvered regulator disc numbered up to 30, engraved spandrel ring with repeated foliate border, numbered '5597'.
Dial: Gilt dial, the centre with tight, concentric circular guilloche, outer minute index, satin-finished chapter ring with contrasting applied gold Breguet-style numerals, blued Breguet/Pomme hands.
Case: Louis Comtesse (reg. 8th Nov 1804), working at 13 Bateman Buildings, Soho. Maker’s mark: 'LC' with tilde above incuse.
18ct gold London 1804 (date letter I, applied in this example 8th Nov 1804 to 28th May 1805).
The caseback with engine-turned ground, centred with a circular cartouche engraved with initials 'CR' in script cypher surmounted by the Royal crown, all against a stippled ground.
The cypher is that of Queen Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1744-1818), Queen consort of King George III. They were married on 8th September 1771.
Size: 50mm
Accompaniments: None

Notes: During the Regency Period, the original 'pair cased' watches of the era were thick, heavy and onion-shaped, and had fallen out of favour.
However, the highest quality movements were often re-cased to suit the more modern tastes of the time.
The watch on offer in this lot represents a fine example of this Regency-era re-casing/marriage, with the elements from two outstanding watch/case makers.
George Graham, or 'Honest George Graham' as he was affectionately known (For his willingness to share his inventions without patents), was an apprentice to Henry Aske, before joining the workshop of Thomas Tompion in 1696, later marrying Tompion's niece Elizabeth in 1704.
On Tompion's death in 1713, Graham inherited the entire business.