Lot 516

Edward Prior, London, Movement No. 71704, 73 mm, 161 g, circa 1858
A triple-cased verge pocket watch with additional leather-covered outer case - made for the Ottoman market
Case: 1. Protective outer case - leather covered, embossed, cambered. 2. Protective outer case - silver, tortoiseshell, stud decoration. Outer case - silver. Inner case - silver, case maker punch mark "TH". Dial: enamel. Movm.: full plate movement, chain/fusee, three-arm steel balance.
Movement as well as case design of these watches intended for the Turkish market were already outmoded in 1858 - and even more so in later years; nevertheless Edward Prior and some of his contemporaries such as George Prior (II), George Charle, Markwick Markham-Perigal and Isaac Rogers specialized on this type of watch because there was a ongoing demand for them on the Turkish market - be it from tradition or from a true love of the elaborately ornamented movements and cases.