Provenance: Bloch-Pimentel Collection, sold at Drouot on May 5, 1961, lot 113. This magnificent watch is rather unconventionally made for the time. There is no motion train; instead there are two additional wheels in the going train, one driving the hours, the other the minutes. It is executed on a principle similar to that of precision regulator clocks.These superbly made coach watches with musical automata are very rare, in fact only three are known to exist. The other two were sold by Antiquorum on Nov. 13, 1999, lot 64 and on April 2, 2000, lot 378. Of these two watches, one played a Chinese tune and the other a European melody. Alfred Chapuis and Edmond Droz pictured one of these in "Les Automates" by on p. 187, calling it "bien extraordinaire". Both the above-mentioned watches, now in the Patek Philippe Museum, are signed on the dial. They are of the same construction and similar in size to the present one, which proves almost conclusively that this watch came from Morand's workshop as well. This watch differs strikingly from the others, however, in that its dial contains six subsidiary dials. This multifunctional coach watch is unique in this aspect.The handful of watches which are either signed by Pierre Morand or attributed to him, are highly distinctive and immediately recognizable. Unusually large, they feature carillons and finely chiseled and engraved varicolored automaton scenes in richly engravedand pierced gold cases of distinctively Genevan workmanship.Morand watches are signed in three different ways: Morand; Pierre Morand and Morand à Paris. No watch is known, however, with any French punchmarks, which means that the watches were never imported into France. Pierre may well have been a Master horologist and merchant based in Paris, who commissioned these exceptional watches from the artists of Geneva's "Fabrique" with a specific foreign market in mind.This would not be without precedent: James Cox in London, ordered elaborate mechanical watches and clocks for the Chinese Emperor and his entourage; many of the superb pieces created by the Jaquet Droz firm in Geneva were ultimately destined for the Chinese market and sold through their London branch or via Cox and other merchants. Slightly later, Ilbery, in London, catered to the same market. So did Bovet, based in Fleurier, who opened a branch of the family firm first in London and then in Canton. Perigal and de Saint Leu in London worked for the Middle Eastern market. Recordon, also in London, sent his watches throughout Europe. Morand may have worked in the same way : sold from a "comptoir commercial" in Paris, his watches, made in Geneva, would have been sent from that city to their final destinations.The watches themselves may give us a clue as to what those destinations were. All known Morand watches feature similar automaton scenes, with fishermen, windmills, houses with distinctive architecture, and water. These cheerful and intimate landscapes are reminiscent of those painted by Flemish artists. We suggest that these musical automaton watches may have been destined for orthern European and Dutch markets.The Dutch, it must be remembered, had important colonies in Indonesia the Dutch East Indies, Suriname, and the Caribbean, which represented potentially important markets. Furthermore, the Dutch were a very strong presence in China during the 17th and 18th centuries.As to the identity of Morand himself, evidence points to a Pierre Morand who became a Master horologist in Paris in 1782 and is recorded in 1783 at the Quai des Augustins and in 1789-90 in the rue Saint-André-des-Arts. Pierre Morand may have been a son or nephew of Antoine Morand 1674-1757, from Pont-de-Vaux, in the Bresse region. Antoine was made "Horlogeur du Roi et Maître Mécanicien" in 1706, after having constructed a clock with automata and music dedicated to the glory of King Louis XIV If the two were indeed relatives, the specialty of music and automata would have remained in the family, Pierre Morand devoting his talents to constructing this type of piece on a smaller scale.A Morand is known to have been active in Geneva at a later date: between 1828 and 1835, at 130, rue des Etuves. This may be a relative, perhaps a son, of the Pierre Morand who invented and created the superb and distinctive musical and automaton coach watches such as the present lot.