Coach clock/ coach watch: important astronomical coach clock James Cox 8043/1774, probably ordered by the Chinese emperor, 1774: Ca. Ø11.5cm, ca. 1,296g, case covered with ray skin, sound openings, bell, signed original and numbered dome, very fine cylinder movement, diamond endstone, signed and numbered plate, extremely rare combination of complications, grande sonnerie, date, seconds and flashing 1/5 seconds, signed original and numbered regulator enamel dial, steel hands, intact, striking hammer needs adjustment to optimise the sound. Case with imperfections in the ray skin, otherwise in completely original condition! The clock is an absolute rarity. It is the sister clock of the matching clock no. 8042/1775 by James Cox, which was sold in the special auction 'treasures-of-the-qing-court' at Sothebys and sold for ca. 35,000€. It is very likely that these two clocks were a pair, which was delivered to the Emperor of China! James Cox (* c. 1723; † early 1800s) was an English watchmaker, jeweller and entrepreneur from London. Among other things, he traded in elaborate clock movements and automata designed as decorative pieces, which he had produced in London and Geneva and exported mainly to China. His creations were very popular at the Chinese imperial court. The St James Chronicle reported in 1772 that the Emperor Qianlong bought up a complete shipload of Cox's products while turning away ships from other merchants. This is definitely one of the rarest and most valuable English coach clocks! Here are some of his famous clocks that have been auctioned so far: 1. https://www.cortrie.de/go/Nln 2.https://www.cortrie.de/go/X4V 3.https://www.cortrie.de/go/jNd 4.https://www.cortrie.de/go/nNo 5.https://www.cortrie.de/go/LlO