The movement was likely imported from Liverpool in an unfinished state and finished by Wright in New York, but that can not be determined with certainty. If so, the supplier most likely was relative Richard Wright who worked in Cronton (England) near Prescot. A very rare account book from Richard Wright survives that shows that he provided finished and unfinished movements to makers in London. There is also a single but undated entry that mentions cutting wheels for a "John Wright".

Oldest American Watch

The silver champlevé dial, signed "Wright New York", was likely fabricated in New York City. It is very unusually convex (the center is about 2mm higher than the edge). It was likely made that way to fit the movement into a case that was not quite the right depth to accommodate the wonderful sun & moon automation wheels that are directly beneath the dial.

Sun and moon watches first appeared in the last quarter of the 17th century in England and the Netherlands, after the invention of the spiral balance spring in 1657 made accurate timekeeping possible and makers began experimenting with ways to indicate the passing of both hours and minutes on a watch dial. The concept is to differentiate daytime from nighttime hours by displaying a rotating sun or moon that points to the hour. The single hand attached at the center points to the minutes.

The silver pair cases have a maker’s mark of “WL” with a coronet above that was made by William Laithewaite of Liverpool. The silver alloy is below the Sterling standard and gives evidences to the export of substandard wares to America to earn more profit.

This watch was exhibited at the American Clock and Watch Museum, Bristol, Connecticut in 2014.

Only three American signed watches from the first half of the 18th century have been recorded. The two others are signed Samuel Bagnall (1741-42) and Peter Stretch (circa 1735). This watch, signed by John Wright in New York is the oldest known American watch, circa 1715-20.