Important Watches Wristwatches, and C...

Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, Apr 02, 2000

LOT 378

Morand, Genève, made for the Chinese Market,circa 1780.Magnificent and certainly unique, 20K varicoloured gold musical, centre seconds coach-watch, two tunes carillon on four bells, with automaton scene.

CHF 0 - 0

Sold: CHF 762,500

C. Double body, Louis XVI with glazed back, the bezels chased with palm leaf decoration over a matt ground. D. White enamel with Roman numerals and outer Arabic minute and seconds ring. Gold pierced ?fleurs-de-lys? hands. M. Hinged gilt brass double train full plate, applied over the back plate the fine chased three-coloured gold automaton riverside scene with a fisherman on the left, a water mill on the right. Going train with fixed barrel and revolving arbor, verge escapement, plain brass thre-arm balance, flat balance spring, released by a button on the bezel, pinned-drum musical train with four bells and four hammers, driving the movement of the fisherman, the flowing river and the wheel of the milll, by means of cams and levers.Signed on the dial.Diam. 83 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: * 3
Dial: 3 - 01

Notes

Previously in the Berry-Hill Collection, this watch was described and illustrated by Alfred Chapuis and Edmond Droz in Les Automates, Figures Artificielles d?Hommes et d?Animaux, p. 187, fig. 207.Very few watches with a carillon and an automaton scene, such as the example sold by Antiquorum on November 13, 1999,The Art of Horology in Geneva, lot 64, are known to have been made by Morand. But only two coach-watches of this type are known to exist: this example plays a Chinese tune, and was brought back from China at the beginning of the 20th century by Gustave Loup, the celebrated collector who used to live in Pekin; the other one plays an Occidental music.Musical coach-watches from the 18th century, playing on five bells, are extremely rare, even more so when also fitted with an automaton scene.Pierre Morand, Genève and ParisWatchmaker specialised in the production of high quality watches, mainly made for the Chinese Market. Varicoloured gold automaton watches, musical watches and musical coach-watches. His signature appears on watches as early as 1770. He made a magnificent pair of coach-watches with music for the Chinese Market, one of them plays a Chinese tune, the other a European style music. One of his watches was brought back from China at the beginning of the 20th century by Gustave Loup, the celebrated collctor who used to live in Pekin. Pierre Morand used to sign: Morand or Pierre Morand; between1828 and 1835, he was still recorded as working in Geneva, in30, rue de l?Etuve; at least one watch from this period, in gold and black enamel, with chatelaine, matching key and seal, is known to exist.