104th Auction

2021/5/22

Lot 193

John Wilter

A London triple-cased "repoussé" verge pocket watch with date and polychrome enamel medallion made for the Dutch market, so called "Dutch Forgery"

estimated
4.0006.000 €
Price realized
-
specific features
Case
Transport case - silver, applied shagreen with stud decoration. Outer case - silver, "repoussé" decoration, enamel medallion on the reverse side. Inner case - silver, case maker's punch mark: "FI".
Dial
Silver champlevé.
Movement
Full plate movement, keywind, chain/fusee, three-arm brass balance.
Case no.4367
Diam.62 mm
Circa1760
Ctry.English
Wt.166 g


The middle case is elaborately ornamented with chased flowers and leaves and an inserted central medallion on the back. The polychrome enamel painting shows a galant scene with a young man trying to seduce his beloved with freshly picked cherries.
In his book, Brian Loomes describes John Wilter as a watchmaker who was active in London from 1760 to 1784 and presumably produced many verge pocket watches for the Dutch market. Other sources say that John Wilter is a made-up name because they see no proof that the man was truly a watchmaker or that he even existed. In that context his pieces are often labelled "Dutch forgeries"; these are contemporary forgeries of English watches dating from the second half of the 18th century that were usually made in continental Europe. The watches were of inferior quality and signed with a fictitious English name and the designation "London" for marketing reasons.
Some timepieces made by John Wilter belong to important museums and collections such as the British Museum in London.