At least 10 makers with the surname Lagisse (5 with the first initial P) are recorded as working in Geneva during the late 17th/early 18th.centuries; several are known to have been related to one another. In the case of the watch now offered for sale, it seems most likely to be the work of Pierre Didier Lagisse whose death is noted by Baillie as 1679. He worked in Geneva before settling in Isphahan where he became watchmaker and advisor to the Shah, making a considerable fortune in the process. Certain features of this watch support the attribution, and may be usefully compared with lot 557 by the same maker. Although clearly a very early example of the use of a balance spring, the watch cannot therefore date from much before 1680, by which time the fashion in Europe for shaped rock-crystal cases was long past. However, watches made in the Middle East by the various colonies of expatriate makers are regularly anachronistic in form. The dIal is also unusual, being made of gilt silver with a most un-European style of punched decoration( The reason for using silver was evidently to facilita-te the champlevé work, which is very rarely seen on brass) ,and centred with a stylised floral motif which could be interpreted as the rose of Shiraz,the national flower of Persia. Aside from the above, this watch must be counted amongst the earliest surviving examples made in Geneva with a balance spring. In common with a few watches of similar date, the fusee has been omitted in favour of a going arbor ,Lagisse obviously subscribing to the erroneous belief that it was no longer necessary. This watch can be attributed with virtual certainty to Pierre Didier Lagisse ( See note to lot ?? ). Furthermore there are elements of its decoration that can be closely linked to his working in Persia. Turquoise enamel is in effect a combination of green, the Islamic colour associated with Allah, and blue, the colour associated with good fortune; as discussed under lot ??, the pink rose is the flower of Persia,and forms a pronounced feature of the decoration. Although the watchmakers who settled in the Middle East were capable of working to a high standard, the fine quality and smooth finish exhibited on interior shell of this watch is more reminiscent of the work of the Huaud family, notably Pierre Huaud the father, who specialised in the blue groundwork in combination with black and pink decorations. Provenance: Formerly in the Maryatt Collection, No.G.2;