Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces
Hong Kong, Jul 23, 2020
LOT 44
Thomas Vernon
Pair-case pocket watch, quarter-repeater, matching chatelaine, “Chinoiserie”-style décor; 22K yellow gold and enamel
Pair-case pocket watch, quarter-repeater, matching chatelaine, “Chinoiserie”-style décor; 22K yellow gold and enamel
HKD 240,000 - 250,000
CHF 29,200 - 30,500 / USD 31,000 - 32,300
22K yellow gold and enamel, pair-cased open-face, key-winding, roundshaped, “Consular” pocket watch with one horological complication: • Quarter-repeater on one bell by two hammers (activated by depressing the pendant)
Outer case, pierced and engraved, decorated with a scene in “Chinoiserie”-style depicting a pagoda, peacock, fox and rabbits, partly overlaid (flinqué translucent enamel over guilloché engine-turning) with transparent Imperial blue enamel; large lateral hinge.
Inner case, pierced and engraved, decorated with foliate inhabited by birds and dolphins; gold push pendant; steel pulse piece to silence the bell; case-maker’s mark “D·A” (David Aveline, London).
White enamel dial with radial Roman numerals for the hours and radial Arabic numerals for the minutes; gilded pierced hands.
Movement 14’’’, full plate, fire gilded brass, turned baluster pillars, fusee and chain, verge escapement, monometallic three-arm balance (gilded brass) and blued steel flat hairspring, pierced and engraved gilded English cock with mascaron, diamond end-stone in a blued steel setting, pierced and engraved gilded foot and plate for the silver regulator disc; repeater work.
Contemporary matching solid gold and enamel chatelaine; gold clip supporting three gold and enamel shield shaped cartouches; two further gold and enamel chain join to the watch buckle and two shorter chains with broad gold and enamel rings; hinged clasps secured by threaded collars.
Outer case, pierced and engraved, decorated with a scene in “Chinoiserie”-style depicting a pagoda, peacock, fox and rabbits, partly overlaid (flinqué translucent enamel over guilloché engine-turning) with transparent Imperial blue enamel; large lateral hinge.
Inner case, pierced and engraved, decorated with foliate inhabited by birds and dolphins; gold push pendant; steel pulse piece to silence the bell; case-maker’s mark “D·A” (David Aveline, London).
White enamel dial with radial Roman numerals for the hours and radial Arabic numerals for the minutes; gilded pierced hands.
Movement 14’’’, full plate, fire gilded brass, turned baluster pillars, fusee and chain, verge escapement, monometallic three-arm balance (gilded brass) and blued steel flat hairspring, pierced and engraved gilded English cock with mascaron, diamond end-stone in a blued steel setting, pierced and engraved gilded foot and plate for the silver regulator disc; repeater work.
Contemporary matching solid gold and enamel chatelaine; gold clip supporting three gold and enamel shield shaped cartouches; two further gold and enamel chain join to the watch buckle and two shorter chains with broad gold and enamel rings; hinged clasps secured by threaded collars.
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: AAA |
Excellent |
Case: 3 |
Good |
Movement: 3* |
Good Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense |
Dial: 3-23-01 |
Good Later HANDS Original |
Brand Thomas Vernon, London
Year circa 1770
Movement No. 318
Case No. 103 (case-maker’s mark “D·A”, David Aveline, London)
Caliber 6’’’, verge escapement
Dimensions Ø 49 mm. / Weight (gross) 123 gr.
Signature movement
Notes
“Chinoiserie”-style
“Chinoiserie” art already in 18th century Europe modelled itself on Chinese works of art and was immensely popular at the time. The enthusiasm for all things Chinese was fed by an interest in exotic and unusual cultures as well as the illusion of a gigantic peaceful empire where even the lower classes occupied themselves with literature and philosophy.
Vernon, Thomas (II)
Watchmaker active in London. Thomas (II) Vernon is probably descended from the London family of Samuel (I) Vernon, master to the Clockmakers’ Company in 1648, Samuel (II) Vernon, master to the Clockmakers’ Company in 1685, and Thomas (I) Vernon († 1731), Freeman of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1708 (active in London, at Fleet Street).
Aveline, Daniel (1709-1772)
Case-maker active in London, at Denmark Street, St. Giles in the Fields. Freeman of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1768. He died in 1772 (his will is held at the National Archives, Kew). His master mark is often found on fine gold cases, many of them decorative, containing movements by the best English watchmakers of the period (William Addis, Thomas Gardener, Walter Partridge, James Upjohn, James Vigne, William Deards, etc.). Later, Mary Aveline, his widow, worked with Gideon Macaire, at 5 Denmark Street, Soho. They registering their mark in 1779. Gideon Macaire was registered as a gold worker at 12 Denmark Street in 1789. His widow, Ann Macaire registered in partnership with Peter Desvignes as gold workers at 13 Denmark Street in 1793.
“Chinoiserie” art already in 18th century Europe modelled itself on Chinese works of art and was immensely popular at the time. The enthusiasm for all things Chinese was fed by an interest in exotic and unusual cultures as well as the illusion of a gigantic peaceful empire where even the lower classes occupied themselves with literature and philosophy.
Vernon, Thomas (II)
Watchmaker active in London. Thomas (II) Vernon is probably descended from the London family of Samuel (I) Vernon, master to the Clockmakers’ Company in 1648, Samuel (II) Vernon, master to the Clockmakers’ Company in 1685, and Thomas (I) Vernon († 1731), Freeman of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1708 (active in London, at Fleet Street).
Aveline, Daniel (1709-1772)
Case-maker active in London, at Denmark Street, St. Giles in the Fields. Freeman of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1768. He died in 1772 (his will is held at the National Archives, Kew). His master mark is often found on fine gold cases, many of them decorative, containing movements by the best English watchmakers of the period (William Addis, Thomas Gardener, Walter Partridge, James Upjohn, James Vigne, William Deards, etc.). Later, Mary Aveline, his widow, worked with Gideon Macaire, at 5 Denmark Street, Soho. They registering their mark in 1779. Gideon Macaire was registered as a gold worker at 12 Denmark Street in 1789. His widow, Ann Macaire registered in partnership with Peter Desvignes as gold workers at 13 Denmark Street in 1793.