The Sandberg Watch Collection

Hotel Richemond, Geneva, Mar 31, 2001

LOT 215

The Palmist Piguet & Meylan, Geneva, No. 4189, the box attributed to Jean-Georges Reymond & Cie, Genevan marks for 1809-1819.Magnificent and very rare, 18 ct. gold, enamel and pearl-set, musical automaton snuff box with two tunes and concealed centre-seconds watch, made for the Chinese market.

C. Rectangular with rounded corners, divided into two compartments, the front empty, the back housing the automaton and the watch, two hinged covers. The top cover with a very finely enamelled palmist practising his art on a young couple within a half pearl frame. The back cover with black and Imperial blue translucent enamel over engine-turning with lozenge geometrical pattern, gold, black and azure champlev? enamel florally decorated frame. The four sides decorated with both geometrical and scoll designs in polychrome champlev? enamel. The back cover opens to reveal an interior scene painted on enamel with two varicoloured gold automaton figures, the lady playing a harp and the gentleman a guitar. A clock on the mantelpiece, with blued 'spade' hands and centre-seconds, tells the time. The sector to its left is for regulation. D. White enamel dial, radial Roman chapters, minute and seconds dot divisions. Blued-steel 'spade' hands. M. Mounted in the upper right corner of the musical moement. Triangular shape 25 x 36 mm, brass three-quarter plate, cylindrical pillars, fixed barrel, cylinder escapement, brass escape wheel, plain brass three-arm balance, flat balance spring. The brass rectangular musical and automaton movement, 80 x 53 mm, driven by fixed barrel, with four-arm fly regulator mounted on the extension of the last pinion, double pin revolving plate playing with two sets of 32 tuned teeth in a fan-shape, the automata driven from a cam mounted on the pin wheel arbor wich moves a lever and in turn moves the arms. Two bolts on the front side panel, the right one to activate the music and the automaton work, the left one to choose between the two tunes.Stamped with the maker's mark and serial number on the musical plate, the number repeated on the case and the watch movement, the case stamped with the Genevan rooster stamp used between September 1, 1809 and August 15, 1819.Dim. 81 x 55 x 23 mm. Published in the Sandberg book, pages 416-417.