Important collector's watches, wristw...

Hotel Richemond, Geneva, Apr 13, 2002

LOT 45

Frères Rochat, Geneva, No. 456, made for the Chinese market, circa 1825. Beautiful and rare small 18K varicolored gold and enamel singing bird box in original Morocco fitted box.

CHF 80,000 - 100,000

EUR 55,000 - 70,000 / USD 45,000 - 60,000

Sold: CHF 91,500

C. Three-body, rectangular with rounded corners, the top with applied varicolored floral and foliate patterns with two butterflies and four cornucopias with flowers, the spring-loaded bird cover finely painted on enamel with a flower bouquet, engine-turned side panels with edges of applied green gold laurel leaf pattern, back panel hinged to reveal key compartment, slide in the front to activate raising of the bird, which rotates, turns its head, opens its beak, flaps its wings and moves its tail. The bird is facing the inside of the medallion which is mirror-polished and concave, enlarging the bird in its reflection, gold engraved grill. Singing bird movement. 74 x 41 mm, rectangular brass, fusee and chain, eight cams and a whistle with sliding piston for the song's modulation. The cams rotate four times per song and lift one step every rotation, allowing a long duration of singing. Cam-controlled raising of the bird medallion and the bird, with five-wheel train finished by a pinion in eccentric bushing to regulate the speed of the opening and closing. The complicated mechanism allows for precision control of the raising of the bird and medallion, and its speed. Stamped ?FR? in an oval on the back of the bird mechanism. Dim. 78 x 52 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense

Notes

FR (Rochat) Behind the initials FR lies a mystery. Do they signify Frères Rochat, as is commonly thought? The sons of David Rochat, a Master watchmaker from Le Brassus in the Vallée de Joux, were François Elisée, Frédéric, and Samuel Henri. David Rochat and sons worked for Jaquet-Droz and Leschot, providing ebauches of singing bird mechanisms. In the early years of the 19th century, these three Rochat brothers moved to Geneva and went into business on their own, soon splitting up into two groups. François remained on his own (later aided by his son, Ami Napoléon), and Frédéric and Samuel worked together, (along with Frédéric?s sons, Antoine and Louis). Another suggestion deserves consideration. The signature FR may not stand for Frères Rochat, but rather for a single name: François Rochat, (or Frédéric Rochat, François? brother). Still other Rochats were working in Geneva at the time. Among them is Louis Rochat, originally from l?Abbaye in the Vallée de Joux, who is considered to be the maker of a piece with clock and singing birds (today in the Peking Museum) which won a prize from the Genevan Réunion des Industriels in 1829. Louis worked with his brother François, and in 1814, these two brothers formed an association, Frères Rochat et Compagnie, along with Pierre Daniel Campiche. Until research proves the exact identity of the fine artisans behind the signature FR, all hypotheses should be considered.