Important Collectors Wristwatches, Po...

Geneva, Nov 14, 2009

LOT 129

Pearl Snowflake Attributed to Piguet & Meylan, Genève, No. 4824. Made for the Chinese market, circa 1820. Fine and rare, musical, quarter-repeating, gold, enamel and pearl-set, center-seconds pocket watch, playing music on the hour or at will.

C. Four-body, ?Empire?, the bezels, pendant and bow decorated with split pearls, reeded band, the back cover overlaid with Imperial blue translucent enamel over an engineturned ground, applied gold snowflake motif set with split pearls. Hinged gilt cuvette with apertures for the hand-setting, going and musical trains. D. White enamel with radial Roman numerals, outer minute track and concentric seconds divisions. Pierced gold hands. M. 52 mm., matte gilt, standing barrels for the going and musical trains, cylinder escapement, three-arm balance with polished steel endplate, blued steel flat balance spring, index regulator, repeating on gongs activated by depressing the pendant, sur plateau musical movement with 19 tuned steel teeth playing on both sides of the pinned disc, silence lever protruding from the edge of the cuvette, bolt to activate the music on the band. Dial plate punch numbered. Diam. 57 mm.