Lot 57

Pierre Rigaud

A fine Geneva minute repeating pocket watch

This is a particularly rare and attractive pocket watch features a minute repeater – which, due to its highly complex design, is very unusual to appear in a watch dating from the 1820s.
Swiss maker Jean-Pierre Rigaud was born in Geneva in July 1750; he was the son of watchmaker Lazare Rigaud (1716-1785) and his wife Elisabeth Aubert (circa 1729-1789). In 1775 Rigaud married Marie de Choudens (1751-1828), the daughter of maker Jacques de Choudens (1728-1801). Rigaud was appointed maker to the Russian court and henceforth signed his timepieces Pierre Rigaud. He was also mayor of Dardagny from circa 1818 to 1820; Dardagny was a small town 11 kilometres to the west of Geneva near the French border. Jean-Pierre Rigaud died at the age of 69 on Saturday, January 11, 1820 in Dardagny.
A pocket watch by Rigaud resides in the Château de Versailles.
Source: watch-wiki.org/index.php?title=Rigaud,_Jean-Pierre, as of 04/06/2021