Tambour cased verge watch with strackfreed hour striking and alarm

The mark HK within a shield can be attributed to Hans Koch of Munich. It is a mark which appears to have been used on earlier examples of his work. Later examples use the same initials in a shield but also have an additional mark consisting of a right-facing monk's head, the town mark of Munich. Hans Kock was one of the more profilic makers working in Munich in the second half of the sixteenth century. He became Hofuhrmacher to the Elector Albrecht V in 1554 and during his life, until his death in about 1603 he made watches and clocks for many wealthy patrons both in Munich and further afield. See Kluas Maurice, Die Deutsche Raderuhr, ill 436 (now in the Musee due Louvre in Paris) for a Koch watch with a very similar case - though a later example. The design of this case can be found in a number of watches by other South German makers perhaps suggesting that either the design patterns were commonly known, or more likely that the cast designs were made in one workshop and supplied to various watchmakers in the area.