Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions has announced that an English longcase clock from Joseph Knibb will provide the highlight of its March 11 Fine Clocks, Barometers and Scientific Instruments auction in the UK.

Knibb was clockmaker to two British kings

Described as "one of the most important early English longcase clocks to come to the market in the last 10 years", the piece has remained in the same family since its initial purchase.

It is now valued at £80,000-120,000 ($133,712-200,569).

Joseph Knibb (1640-1711) belonged to a family of horologists known as the clockmakers of Claydon, which included his brother, John Knibb, and cousin, Samuel Knibb.

Their work is some of the most respected of all English clockmakers, and their influence was widespread across Europe during their careers.

Joseph, who worked from Oxford before relocating to London, is perhaps the most revered of the three, and was the appointed clockmaker to Charles II and James II.

The clock at auction is one of less than six surviving longcase examples that were created before Knibb moved to London in 1670, and is possibly the earliest known. Its centrepiece is an exquisitely engraved dial, comparable to another early example.

A Joseph Knibb carriage clock featured in the landmark auction of the George Daniels Horological Collection at Sotheby's in 2012 with an estimate of $1.4m, while a similar piece from his cousin, Samuel, made $680,726 at Bonhams in 2013.

A piece from John Knibb will also feature in the sale, valued at £8,000-12,000 ($13,364-20,046).

A diamond-shaped wall clock, it was produced circa 1865 and is believed to be unique, with only a handful of diamond-shaped clocks known from any maker of the period.

Matching this estimate is a Victorian gilt-brass ebonised carriage clock made by Dent of London - the manufacturer of the clock that accompanies Big Ben on the Palace of Westminster.

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