Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces

Geneva, May 11, 2014

LOT 56

GOLD GRANULATION & ENAMEL DECORATED JUMP HOUR WATCH Swiss, case No. 6258. Made circa 1830. Very fine and rare, jump-hour, gold granulation decorated, enamel and gem-set pocket watch.

CHF 4,000 - 6,000

HKD 33,000 - 50,000 / USD 4,600 - 6,900

Sold: CHF 5,625

Four-body, entirely decorated with granulation technique, the back cover set with 16 faceted oval amethysts, central octagonal painted on enamel panel decorated with a portrait of a lady representing flora. Hinged gilt-metal cuvette. Engine-turned silver, eccentric chapter ring for the minutes, subsidiary seconds, aperture for the date. Blued steel lozenge hand. 34 mm., matte gilt, full plate, fusee and chain, verge escapement, brass balance with flat balance spring, continental clock with polished steel endplate, silvered regulation dial.


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Grading System
Grade: AA

Very good
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3-01

Good

HANDS Original

Notes

DIAM. 44 mm. The present watch is a particularly fine example of the granulation technique of decoration, and has been preserved in good condition. Granulation, a technique using tiny beads of gold, was employed - and probably invented - by the ancient Etruscans, who created jewelry which was highly sought-after throughout the Mediterranean. Most watches using this method employed a technique in which ready-to-apply gold beads were soldered onto the surface, thereby forming the desired pattern.