Geneva, Nov 05, 2023
LOT 317
EMERY EARLY MINUTE-REPEATER, GOLD
CHF 5,000 - 15,000
EUR 5,300 - 15,800 / USD 5,600 - 16,700 / HKD 43,300 - 130,000TO BE SOLD WITHOUT RESERVE
Sold: CHF 21,250
Fine and extremely rare, 22K. gold pair cased, half skeletonised, minute repeating watch.
Casemarker "P.G." (Peter Goujon), the bezel chased with interlaced decoration, the back chased with an um, foliage and further rocaille decoration, the border pierced and chased with decoration matching that of the bezel. Inner, double body, the back engraved with a rosette in a sun-burst pattern, the band pierced with scrolling foliage.
Casemarker "P.G." (Peter Goujon), the bezel chased with interlaced decoration, the back chased with an um, foliage and further rocaille decoration, the border pierced and chased with decoration matching that of the bezel. Inner, double body, the back engraved with a rosette in a sun-burst pattern, the band pierced with scrolling foliage.
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: |
|
Case: 3 |
Good |
Movement: 3* |
Good Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense |
Dial: 3-71-01 |
Good ENAMEL AND VARIOUS TYPES OF DECORATION Hairlines HANDS Original |
Brand Josiah Emery, England
Year Circa 1775
Movement No. 299
Material 22K. gold
Diameter 48 mm.
Caliber 14''', hinged gilt brass full plate with turned pillars, fusee with chain, cylinder escapement, plain steel three-arm balance, flat balance spring, gilt brass cock pierced and engraved with scrolling foliage, diamond endstone. Repeating on a bell, the repeating train with gilt brass fixed barrel with revolving arbor, the polished steel minute repeating work visible through the dial. Gilt brass dust cap.
Signature Movement
Notes
Josiah Emery (c. 1725-1797).
A Swiss watchmaker, born in the canton of Vaud, near Vevey, settled in England and had a shop at 33 Cockspur Street, Charing Cross, London. He made very fine cylinder watches and few with minute repeating like this lot, he became famous as the first watchmaker in the world after Thomas Mudge to produce a watch with a lever escapement. He made about thirty-six lever watches between 1774/5 and 1795. Three of Emery's lever watches were imported into France and served as a model for Robert Robin for a series of precision watches that he produced at the end of the eighteenth century. His workmanship is always superlative, equal to the best of his contemporaries, including Arnold. Louis Berthoud said of Emery's work that it was particularly good in its essential points, and not ''showy''. In 1781 his excellence was recognized by his peers, who elected him an Honorary Freeman of the Clockmaker's Company, a distinction rarely given. He was succeeded by Recordon and Dupont in 1796.
The minute repeater movement, a feat of engineering at the time, is the jewel that drives this watch. The watchmakers of the time Josiah Emery took on the complex challenge of ensuring that the watch could strike the hours, quarter hours and minutes with extraordinary precision.
A Swiss watchmaker, born in the canton of Vaud, near Vevey, settled in England and had a shop at 33 Cockspur Street, Charing Cross, London. He made very fine cylinder watches and few with minute repeating like this lot, he became famous as the first watchmaker in the world after Thomas Mudge to produce a watch with a lever escapement. He made about thirty-six lever watches between 1774/5 and 1795. Three of Emery's lever watches were imported into France and served as a model for Robert Robin for a series of precision watches that he produced at the end of the eighteenth century. His workmanship is always superlative, equal to the best of his contemporaries, including Arnold. Louis Berthoud said of Emery's work that it was particularly good in its essential points, and not ''showy''. In 1781 his excellence was recognized by his peers, who elected him an Honorary Freeman of the Clockmaker's Company, a distinction rarely given. He was succeeded by Recordon and Dupont in 1796.
The minute repeater movement, a feat of engineering at the time, is the jewel that drives this watch. The watchmakers of the time Josiah Emery took on the complex challenge of ensuring that the watch could strike the hours, quarter hours and minutes with extraordinary precision.