Johannes van Ceulen, Hagae and Pierre Huaud, le Père, Geneva, Swiss and Dutch, circa 1680. Highly important and exceptionally rare gold and enamel crucifix watch. | Important Collectors Wristwatches Pocket Watches & Clocks | Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, 21st October 1995

Important Collectors Wristwatches Po...

Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, Oct 21, 1995

LOT 919

Johannes van Ceulen, Hagae and Pierre Huaud, le Père, Geneva, Swiss and Dutch, circa 1680. Highly important and exceptionally rare gold and enamel crucifix watch.

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C. Crucifix form with gold frame, the band decorated with blue translucent enamel on a "flingué" ground within borders of raised black and white foliage motifs enamelled "en plein". Back with Corpus Christi against a stippled sky blue ground. Interior of turquoise enamel with black arabesque motif of approximately cruciform design. Engraved gold bezel with facetted rock crystal cover. Loose ring pendant (small enamel repair in this area). D. Crucifix form with small central Roman chapter ring, interior with flowers, the arms with figure of a seated Christ, andnnplements of the passion and crucifixion. Single blued-steel pointer. M. Gilt-brass cross shaped with pierced tulip pillars, fusee with chain, blued-steel worm-and-wheel set-up, verge escapement with polished three-am balance and flat spring with Tompion regulator. Signed on the movement. In excellent condition. Dim. 56 x 41 mm.

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Provenance: T.M. Whitehead Lord Astor of Hever Johannes van Ceulen working from before 1677, died 1715. An exceptional maker of high quality watches, he made several watches and docks for Huygens employing the balance spring. Pierre Huaud, le Père founder of the dynasty of enamellers, son of a French goldsmith Jean Huaud who emigrated to Geneva in 1630 served his apprenticeship with Laurent Legaré, and married Françoise Mussard in 1643. The union produced three sons who ail became enamellers of particular note, and two daughters. Apparently the sons did not sign their work before Pierre's death in 1680. A virtually identical watch is preserved in the Dr. Eugene Gschwind Foundation at the Kirshgarten Museum, Basie. It is the only other known example (an enamel crusifix of quite different style is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York) and is signed "P. Huaud pinxit" à Genève. Huaud Père signed little of his work, but certain characteristics and colours serve to separate his work (by reference to the E. Gschwind example which is apparently the only signed watch) from that of his sons. He appears to have been the only nne.I:o u. Lea_txanclaxcsnt e. 'n..t.tn anv.oroa.+_. av+Pn.t.... and also turquoise as a ground colour. More specificaly, the small orange flowers within the dial centre appear on at least three other watches Literature: E.J. Wood, Curiosities of Clocks and Watches, London 1866, p. 282: 'At a meeting of the Archaeological Institute held on June 6th 1862, ... exhibited By Mr. T.M. Whitehead, a beautiful cruciform gold watch, or montre d'abbesse, elaborately enamelled in .. colours. On the face, which was protected by a crystal, was seen Christ, with the emblems of the Passion; and on the back, the Crucifixion. This was by a German (sic!) artist, late in the 17th Century, and resembled the works of Dinglinger, of Dresden. The movement bore the narre of "Johannes van Ceulen, Hagae," and had a pendulum spring; a mechanism not known before 1675." S. Bull, E. Gschwind, F. Sturm, Montres de Genève, Basie 1978, Nos 5 and 7.