Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces

Geneva, May 13, 2012

LOT 237

AUGUSTE MEYLAN, MUSIQUE D?AMOUR - REPEATING MUSICAL WATCH WITH CONCEALED EROTIC AUTOMATON Auguste Meylan, Genève, No. 222. Made circa 1820. Extremely fine and equally rare, large, 18K gold and painted on enamel, two-train, quarter-repeating musical watch with concealed erotic automaton scene, activated with the music at will, very fine heavy gold and champlevé enamel dial.

CHF 30,000 - 50,000

USD 33,000 - 55,000 / EUR 25,000 - 40,000

Sold: CHF 47,500

C. Three-body, "Empire", polished, reeded band, activation pin and locking slide for the music in the band. Fixed gold and fi nely painted on enamel cuvette with an automaton scene of a gentleman with a lady in a sumptuous interior, activated via a steel cam when the music plays. D. Solid heavy-gauge gold, radial blue champlevé enamel Roman numerals on a matted ground, white enamel dot half-hour divisions, outer white enamel dot minute divisions, the center engraved with a rosette on a black champlevé enamel ground, blue and white enamel center. Blued steel Breguet hands. M. Gilt brass full plate double train movement with cylindrical pillars, going barrel and cylinder escapement, plain gold three-arm balance, fl at balance spring, small pierced gilt brass cock with polished steel end-piece, repeating on square-section gongs activated by depressing the pendant, regulator arm protruding from under the cuvette with engraved scale at the edge. Sur plateau musical train with 25 tuned blued steel teeth playing on both sides of the pinned disc. Dial plate punched ?AM? and numbered 222, case also numbered 222. Diam. 61 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 2

Very good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 2-01

Very good

HANDS Original

Notes

This signed watch by Auguste Meylan has a heavy gold case and very fi nely executed champlevé enamel heavy gold dial. The enamel erotic scene is of very high quality workmanship depicting an aristocratic interior and is very similar to another watch made by Henri Capt sold by Antiquorum Geneva, March 27, 2011, lot 187. The erotic enamel scene on the present watch would of course have been supplied by the same enameller who made for Henri Capt. Literature : Another watch with an almost identical erotic scene to the present watch is Illustrated and described in "Les Heures de l'Amour" by Roland Carrera, Editions Scriptar/Antiquorum, Geneva, 1993, p. 4-5. It is suggested by the author that the fi gure of the gentleman represents Napoleon I.