Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces
Hong Kong, Jul 23, 2020
LOT 45
Unsigned
Miniature watch set into a ring; 18K yellow gold and diamonds
Miniature watch set into a ring; 18K yellow gold and diamonds
HKD 150,000 - 200,000
CHF 18,300 - 24,400 / USD 19,300 - 25,800
18K yellow gold, open-face, key-winding, miniature pendant-watch, that can be incorporated into a ring.
White enamel dial with radial Roman numeral; gold hands.
Gold “Louis XVI” case with gold pendant and bow; bezel set with a row of small rose-cut diamonds.
Movement 7’’’ ½, full plate, fire gilded brass, turned baluster pillars, fusee and chain, cylinder escapement (brass wheel), monometallic three-arm balance (gilded brass) and blued steel flat hairspring, pierced and engraved gilded continental cock, polished steel coqueret, blued steel regulator on top plate below the balance.
Gold ring with a hinged mount for the watch; back engraved with the monogram “A R” inside laurel leaves; shoulders set with rose-cut diamonds; polished circle (or “ring body”).
White enamel dial with radial Roman numeral; gold hands.
Gold “Louis XVI” case with gold pendant and bow; bezel set with a row of small rose-cut diamonds.
Movement 7’’’ ½, full plate, fire gilded brass, turned baluster pillars, fusee and chain, cylinder escapement (brass wheel), monometallic three-arm balance (gilded brass) and blued steel flat hairspring, pierced and engraved gilded continental cock, polished steel coqueret, blued steel regulator on top plate below the balance.
Gold ring with a hinged mount for the watch; back engraved with the monogram “A R” inside laurel leaves; shoulders set with rose-cut diamonds; polished circle (or “ring body”).
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: |
|
Case: 3 |
Good |
Movement: 3* |
Good Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense |
Dial: 3-04 |
Good HANDS Later |
Brand Unsigned, Paris or Geneva
Year circa 1770-1780
Caliber 7’’’ ½, fusee and chain, cylinder escapement
Dimensions Ø 19 mm.
Accessories original fitted box
Notes
This miniature watch could be worn around the neck with a chain or worn on the finger. It can therefore be incorporated into a ring whose bezel (or “ring head”) opens; it is thus presented as a jewel, … as a precious gem!
The watch contains an extremely small movement, a real tour-de-force for the time. This movement is only 14.3 mm. in diameter; it is probably one of the smallest fusee movements known.
This extraordinary testimony to the skill of the watchmakers and jewellers of the last part of the 18th century is preserved in its original case.
In the second half of the 18th century, very few watchmakers were able to achieve this kind of feat. We know written archives and some pieces by watchmakers such as Pierre Augustin Caron (1732-1799) – the future Beaumarchais –, Jean Romilly (1714-1796), Jean-Pierre Tavernier (?-?) and Jean-Henri Divernois (master in 1773) in Paris, Pierre Morand (?-?) in Paris or Geneva, and, John Arnold (1736-1799) in London.
As this object is unsigned, it is difficult to attribute it to one or the other; however, it is almost certain that it was built on the continent, in Paris or Geneva.
The watch contains an extremely small movement, a real tour-de-force for the time. This movement is only 14.3 mm. in diameter; it is probably one of the smallest fusee movements known.
This extraordinary testimony to the skill of the watchmakers and jewellers of the last part of the 18th century is preserved in its original case.
In the second half of the 18th century, very few watchmakers were able to achieve this kind of feat. We know written archives and some pieces by watchmakers such as Pierre Augustin Caron (1732-1799) – the future Beaumarchais –, Jean Romilly (1714-1796), Jean-Pierre Tavernier (?-?) and Jean-Henri Divernois (master in 1773) in Paris, Pierre Morand (?-?) in Paris or Geneva, and, John Arnold (1736-1799) in London.
As this object is unsigned, it is difficult to attribute it to one or the other; however, it is almost certain that it was built on the continent, in Paris or Geneva.