Antiquorum Auctioneers since 1974

Geneva, Nov 08, 2026

LOT 266

HENRY GEBART À STRASBURG, FRANCE, PRE-BALANCE SPRING, SINGLE-HANDED OVAL PENDANT WATCH, GILT BRASS AND SILVER

CHF 13,900 - 23,200

HKD 134,000 - 222,000 / USD 16,900 - 28,100 / EUR 15,000 - 25,000 / JPY 2,670,000 - 4,450,000

TO BE SOLD WITHOUT RESERVE

Sold: CHF 15,120

A very fine, rare and small, gilt brass and silver, manual wind oval-shaped pocket watch, the silver band finely engraved with inhabited scrolling foliage, tulip-shaped pendant with loose ring, and hinged silver covers to both sides, their interiors engraved with wreaths. One cover later engraved with the date “1564”, the other with the coat of arms of a noble family. Oval gilt-brass dial with sprung latches and later-applied silver chapter ring with radial Roman hour numerals and star half-hour divisions. The dial decorated with a fortified medieval city in the background above, a biblical scene at centre, and armed soldiers in the lower section.

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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 3-6-8

Good

Slightly oxidized

Slightly scratched
Movement: 3-6-8*

Good

Slightly oxidized

Slightly scratched

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3-6-01

Good

Slightly oxidized

HANDS Original

Brand Henry Gebart à Strasburg, France

Year Circa 1630

Caliber 35 x 28 mm., oval gilt-brass case engraved with Egyptian pillars. Fusee for gut line, short four-wheel train with six-leaf pinions, verge escapement, steel foliot with turned rim, and elongated cock with small foot, pierced and engraved with flowering foliage and secured by a pin. Ratchet wheel and click mainspring set-up.

Diameter 41 x 32 mm. Excluding pendant.

Signature Movement

Accessories Accompanied by a crank-handle winding key.

Notes

Henry Gebart (Heinrich Gebhardt), Strasbourg, 17th Century

Henry Gebart, also recorded under the German form Heinrich Gebhardt, was a prominent watchmaker active in Strasbourg during the first half of the 17th century. Born around 1602, he is believed to have attained master status around 1631 and died in 1661. His work belongs to the important Strasbourg horological tradition, renowned at the time for the production of technically sophisticated clocks and watches.

Gebart is particularly associated with highly unusual shaped watches of the period, sometimes executed in precious materials such as rock crystal and housed in richly decorated cases. His signature appears in several forms, including “Henry Gebart à Strasburg” and “Henry Gebart, Strasburg”.

A notable example, from the Sandberg Watch Collection and sold by Antiquorum in 2001, Lot 315, The Sandberg Watch Collection, Hotel Richemond, Geneva, 31 March 2001, is a single-hand watch in the form of a fleur-de-lis, made of gilt metal and rock crystal and attributed to circa 1630, signed “Henry Gebart à Strasburg”.

The rarity of surviving examples bearing his name, together with the technical and artistic quality of his work, makes Henry Gebart an important representative of Strasbourg watchmaking in the early 17th century.