EDWARD EAST | A RARE SILVER VERGE WATCH IN THE FORM OF A ROSEBUDCIRCA 1640

• Movement: gilded full plate, verge escapement, decoratively pierced and floral engraved pinned-on balance cock, plain flat steel balance, wheel and click set-up with similarly decorated screwed-on balance cock and foot, fusee and gut line, Egyptian pillars • movement signed Eduardus East Fecit• Dial: silver, chapter ring engraved with Roman numerals with half-hour divisions between, inner ring with quarter hour divisions, centre engraved with a townscape, dial edge engraved with flowers and foliage, blued steel floriate hand • Case: silver, the back of rosebud-form against a matted ground, front cover probably later glazed, bud-form pendant, winding aperture to case back• Accompaniments: with a later associated lyre-form key

Dial: Decoration remains clear, black wax infill to the nuemrals has been refreshed. Case:Case in very attractive condition retaining good definition with some rubbing and tarnishing. Movement: Movement will just run for short periods at time of catalgouing but is clean. Some scratches to the backplate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. All dimensions in catalogue descriptions are approximate. Condition reports may not specify mechanical replacements or imperfections to the movement, case, dial, pendulum, separate base(s) or dome. Watches in water-resistant cases have been opened to examine movements but no warranties are made that the watches are currently water-resistant. Please note that we do not guarantee the authenticity of any individual component parts, such as wheels, hands, crowns, crystals, screws, bracelets and leather bands, since subsequent repairs and restoration work may have resulted in the replacement of original parts. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue. In particular, please note it is the purchaser's responsibility to comply with any applicable import and export matters, particularly in relation to lots incorporating materials from endangered species.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

**Please be advised that bands made of materials derived from endangered or otherwise protected species (i.e. alligator and crocodile) are not sold with the watches and are for display purposes only. We reserve the right to remove these bands prior to shipping."

A watch with a very similar rosebud-form case was in the collection of Stanley Burton, that watch, signed by Francis Torado a watchmaker working in London (Free of the Clockmakers’ Company 1633), was acquired by Burton from Christie’s in 1967 and is illustrated in Antiquarian Horology, June 2002, p.653. A further rosebud-form watch was in the Mallet collection and is illustrated in Baillie, Watches - Their History Decoration and Mechanism, (1929) p. 126. The latter watch was signed by Edmund Gilpin (Free 1632). Without question one of the most important of early English watchmakers, Edward East was born in Southill, Bedfordshire in 1602. At the time there was no Clockmakers’ Company and so, in 1618, the young East was apprenticed to Richard Roger of the Goldsmiths’ Company, becoming a Freeman in 1627. In 1631 the Clockmakers’ Company was formed by Royal Charter and Edward East became one of the Company’s first assistants a year later, in 1632. East was made Warden of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1638 and Master in both 1645 and 1653. In 1660 he was appointed chief clockmaker to King Charles II. In October 1692, East gave £100 to the Clockmakers’ Company with the interest to be used to support poor members. See Loomes, The Early Clockmakers of Great Britain, 1981, p. 206. Edward East lived through almost the entire 17th century and died in 1697, leaving an extraordinary legacy of exceptional watches and clocks.