Important Watches, Wristwatches, Cloc...

Vicenza, Jan 18, 1992

LOT 250

"The Heart" of Piguet & Meylan A Highly Important Gold,Enamel,Pearl and Turquoise-set Heart-shaped Quarter-repeating Musical Automaton Watch, made for the Chinese Market by Piguet & Meylan, Geneve, circa 1820.

ITL 0 - 0

Sold: ITL 709,000

C.Two-body, massive 18ct. gold, (probably George Reymond) hinged at the top, the covers entirely pavé with bands of graduated split-pearls divided by ribs of blue champleve enamel; the back centered with an exceptionally fine enamel placque in the manner of Adam depicting a young woman attempting to restrain Cupid, representing Love Conquered, within pearl-set bezel and 'pierced' by turquoise and pearl-set crossed arrows,the front with similar decoration and centered with the dial.The back panel opening and decorated on the edge with eau-de-nile enamel, the plate surroundIng the movement engraved with ribbon flowers enamelled in green and reci translucent colours against a pale blue champleve ground. A raised panel of the automaton scene finely painted with a lakeside landscape, with vari-coloured gilt figures of a maiden playing a lute and a young man playing harmonica in the foreground, a revolving windmill sait behind. D. White enamel,with Roman numerals, outer minute and seconds ring. Blued-steel lozenge hands with counter-poised centreseconds. M. GiIt brass, Lepine caliber, with goingbarrel, cylinder escapement with plain three-arm balance and blued-steel flat spring. Disk musical musical train with 20 inclividual teeth, playing on the hour or at-will, with Music/Silent switch in the edge. Repeating on two gong by depressing the pendant. In perfect condition condition. H. 95 W. 65


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Such watches were usually sold by pair and used to be presented to Oriental Kings and Emperors. The fabulous heart-shaped watches by Piguet & Meylan are to be counted amongst the small group of Swiss automaton and musical objects that may be considered as the most extraordinary and fantastic ever produced; the singing-bird pistols and gold cages are other examples in the sanie genre. Perhaps no more than four other examples are known to exist. One, formerly in the collection of B. Franck, Paris and illustrated in Chapuis, Le Monde des Automates, Vol. II, p. 45, fig. 325, was subsequently in the collection of King Farouk of Egypt, and sold in the Palace Collections Sale in 1954 as lot 462 (Sotheby's Catalogue). Another was in the collection of Gustave Loup, Geneva, and a