The Extract from the Archives, dated September 19, 2019, mentioned that this watch was sold on December 14, 1984. Provenance • Antiquorum, Hong Kong, auction, May 28, 1989, lot 230, sold for the amount of HK$ 138 000.- (~ CHF 28 750.-). Walter Robin Jennings (1927-2005) Born in Dudley, Staffordshire (England), he was an active artist throughout most of his working life. He was a landscape and animal painter, primarily in oil and exhibited widely. His work has been reproduced in card-form by Medici, Royle and Solomon & Whitehead. He sadly died in Kiderminster, Worcestershire (England), in 2005. Suzanne Rohr, Geneva Born in Geneva in 1939, Suzanne Rohr grew up in a family immersed in the classical arts. Interested in drawing and painting from a young age, she demonstrated her passion for achieving finesse and perfection in every stroke. When she finished school, she discovered an exhibition of enamel work at the Art and History Museum in Geneva which she greatly admired. She then went on to train as an enameller and painter of enamel miniatures in the enamelling department at the School of Decorative Arts in Geneva where she studied under Elisabeth Juillerat and obtained her federal diploma in 1959. She was the only student in her class. In recognition of her achievement, the Department of Education in Geneva offered her an additional year’s training in the jewellery class. That same year, she won the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation competition prize for creating a ladies’ bracelet which included a watch in its enamelled decoration. In 1960, unable to find an in-house position, Suzanne Rohr opened her own studio. This marked the start of her freelance career which she has continued to the present day. From 1960 to 1968, Suzanne Rohr strove to find her calling. She also created enamelled jewellery, cups and artwork using cloisonné and champlevé techniques, or decorated with silver and gold leaf. It was in this same period that she met the famous Genevan miniaturist, Carlo Poluzzi (18991978). He would become her mentor for the next 28 years. Working closely with him, she refined her technique and dedicated herself entirely to enamel miniatures. She sold several of her miniatures in La Côte-aux-Fées, Le Locle and Neuchâtel and undertook work for watchmaking brands in Geneva. From 1967, Suzanne Rohr began her partnership with Patek Philippe where she met connoisseurs of her art. There, she could express her own point of view and, also, obtain gold of the finest quality, an essential pre-requisite for producing the perfect painting. From 1970, she could rely on regular commissions and on the constant support of the Geneva-based firm and from the Stern family who showed their loyal trust in her for nearly 50 years. Fascinated by the art of miniatures, the harmony of shapes and the beauty of colours, Suzanne Rohr’s heart’s desire was to share her passion for this art and see it continue to be appreciated in the 21st century. In 2017, Suzanne Rohr and her former protégée Anita Porchet (b.1961) were jointly awarded the Special Jury Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève for the high level of perfection in their work.
Suzanne Rohr at auction, some results • “Fire in the Steppe” after Alfred Roloff (1879-1951), painted in 1990, sold in Hong Kong on November 29, 2016, for HK$ 5 000 000.- / ~ CHF 653 415.• “La Salve” after Willhem van de Velde the Younger (1633-1707), painted in 1973, sold in Geneva by Antiquorum on May 14, 2017, for CHF 449 000.- / ~ HK$ 3 471 467.• “The Shore at Egmond-ann-Zee” after Jacob van Ruisdael (c.1628-1682), painted in 1972-1973, sold in Hong Kong on May 30, 2017, for HK$ 3 200 000.- / ~ CHF 400 707.• “Two Girls” after Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), painted in 1997, sold in Hong Kong by Antiquorum on October 25, 2015, for HK$ 3 030 000.- / ~ CHF 380 703.- • “Geneva and the Mont-Blanc” after Jean-Philippe George-Julliard (1818-1888), painted in 1981, sold in Geneva on November 12, 2012, for CHF 351 000.- / ~ HK$ 2 873 443.• “The Two Sisters” or “On the Terrace” after Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), painted in 1984, sold in New York on June 17, 2015, for US$ 353 000.- / ~ CHF 327 086.- / ~ HK$ 2 738 542.-