588 - Friedberg repoussé double-case pocket watch with repeater

Friedberg repoussé double-case pocket watch with repeater German. Friedberg, first half of the 18th century; silver. Lavishly ornamented and rocaille-decorated outer case featuring a biblical scene in the repoussé technique, depicting a palace scene with King David playing the harp. Inner case featuring an engraved depiction of four dancing cherubs as an allegory of summer, framed by Baroque openwork ornamentation. Wavy, gold-plated bezel. Finely crafted champlevé dial with Roman hour markers and Arabic minute track, blued “Beetle and Poker” hands, and radial inscription “FÜRSTN FELDER.” Gold-plated spindle movement with key winding, worm gear, and chain; three-arm balance wheel with a richly decorated openwork clasp and repeater strike (2 hammers) on an internal bell. Movement plate signed “Schreiner London” and numbered 330. Total weight 134.30 g, diameter 50 mm. It seems likely that this is a late work by the Friedberg watchmaker Mathias Schreiner (b. 1662) or an early work by his son Karl Mathias Schreiner (1730–1782). For marketing purposes, numerous German watchmakers of that time and region marked their works with the place name “London.” A pocket watch with a striking mechanism by Mathias Schreiner, signed “Schreiner London,” is housed in the local history museum at Wittelsbach Castle in Friedberg, Inv. No. 1988/69. Lit.: Adelheid Riolini-Unger, Friedberger Uhren – Heimatmuseum der Stadt Friedberg, p. 177; Abeler, pp. 512ff. A repoussé verge pocket watch, probably by Mathias or Karl Mathias Schreiner, Germany, Friedberg, 18th century. Two silver cases. Champlevé dial inscribed “FÜRSTN FELDER.” Mechanical movement with key winding and repetition strike, signed “Schreiner London.”