Bautte & Cie.Jean-François Bautte was born on March 26, 1772, in a family of simple labourers and was orphaned at an early age. He was apprenticed at twelve, successively learning the crafts of case maker, engine-turner, watchmaker, jeweller and gem-setter. He was barely nineteen years old when he put his name on his first watch. Two years later, in 1797, Bautte took as partner the case maker Moulinié and the firm Moulinié & Bautte in 1804 was joined by the watchmaker Jean Gabriel Moynier, the name of the copany then became: Moulinié, Bautte & Cie. before being renamed Moulinié, Bautte & Moynier.By that time, Bautte was the most important dealer of Geneva. Ruskin in Praerita (The Works of Ruskin, Vol. 35, Praerita, p. 325) reports with humour this story, about the celebrated dealer:A visit to Bautte's was made with trepidation, as if one was going to see one's banker. Hardly an indication on the building; a simple brass plate at the side of the narrow, vaulted entrance. The alley gave onto a courtyard resembling a cloister, and a large open staircase, wide enough for two people, led you to the green gate. There you paused to pluck up courage before entering. The room was not large and had only one counter in a corner. Nothing was displayed on this counter behind which tworusted employees attended. At the back, close to the window, was one of the heads of the house at his desk, Mr. Bautte, his son or his partner. Then one had to say what one wanted and to be decisive. In Bautte's shop, nothing was laid out to tempt the eyes. You wanted a bracelet, a brooch, a plain or an enamelled watch, serenely a choice was laid before you. There were neither large stones, nor flashy jewels, but fine work, made of the purest gold, enamels remarkable for their colours, all showig a certain "finesse Bauttesque", interlaced garlands which an experienced eye recognised as being in the style of Paris or London. These items, of modest price, would last a lifetime. One went away from Bautte's with the feeling of having accomplished a duty, and certain of possessing an object of value.When Jean-François Bautte died on November 30, 1837, his son Jacques Bautte and his son-in-law Jean-Samuel Rossel, formed a partnership, under the name Jean-François Bautte & Cie., to perpetuate the founder's vision. Jacques Rossel, the son of Samuel, by 1883 became the sole owner of the company, changing its name to J. Rossel Fils. When he died in 1887, he was succeeded by Felipe Hecht and later his son Juan. In 1906, Juan Hecht turned over all his interests in the company to a friend and parenConstant Girard-Gallet, owner of Girard-Perregaux& Cie.