96th Auction
2017/11/18
Lot 65
Geneva, 24 x 39 mm, 18 g, circa 1810
An exquisite and important gold and enamel pendant watch studded with rose-cut diamonds and half pearls, in the form of a strawberry; with visible diamond-studded balance. This is the only known example with a visible movement
Case: gold, polychrome enamel, rose-cut diamonds, half-pearls. Dial: translucent cobalt-blue enamelled ground over engine-turning, engraved floral gold border; lower part: eccentric white enamel dial with Arabic hours; upper part: polished disc with three curved diamond-set arms illustrating a visible balance. Movm.: heart-shaped movement, cylinder escapement.
The fruit was created from translucent strawberry-red and leaf-green enamel over engine-turned ground. Numerous different-size half pearls form the achenes while the green enamel makes up the leaves with their rims of sparkling diamonds. The front has an oval glazed opening that reveals the diamond-studded balance. A curved gold stem forms the loop for the pendant.
Two similar watches but with closed cases are described on pages 227 and 229 in La Montre Chinoise by Alfred Chapuis; they were two of the so-called fantasy timepieces in the Collection Gustave Loup.
Inspired by nature, these fantasy watches were produced for the Chinese market in Geneva at the end of the 18th and in the early 19th century. Imaginative shapes and decorative motifs were popular and the artists were incredibly creative in their work. Inspiration was found in nature and everyday objects. This led to a great variety of new decorative subjects such as heavenly bodies, hats, shoes, musical instruments, animals, plants and various fruit. The most popular types of this kind of watch were melons, cherries, peaches and strawberries; in China the strawberry watches were not only loved as decorative objects but also had a particular significance - strawberries represent goodness and purity and thus were the perfect gift for a lady, who would have understood the symbolic meaning right away. Similarly, the strawberry was considered the holy symbol of the Virgin Mary in Christian cultures.
Timepieces in this particular form were never produced in large numbers and those that have survived centuries are extremely rare - especially the watches that have enamelled and bejewelled cases.
An exquisite and important gold and enamel pendant watch studded with rose-cut diamonds and half pearls, in the form of a strawberry; with visible diamond-studded balance. This is the only known example with a visible movement
Case: gold, polychrome enamel, rose-cut diamonds, half-pearls. Dial: translucent cobalt-blue enamelled ground over engine-turning, engraved floral gold border; lower part: eccentric white enamel dial with Arabic hours; upper part: polished disc with three curved diamond-set arms illustrating a visible balance. Movm.: heart-shaped movement, cylinder escapement.
The fruit was created from translucent strawberry-red and leaf-green enamel over engine-turned ground. Numerous different-size half pearls form the achenes while the green enamel makes up the leaves with their rims of sparkling diamonds. The front has an oval glazed opening that reveals the diamond-studded balance. A curved gold stem forms the loop for the pendant.
Two similar watches but with closed cases are described on pages 227 and 229 in La Montre Chinoise by Alfred Chapuis; they were two of the so-called fantasy timepieces in the Collection Gustave Loup.
Inspired by nature, these fantasy watches were produced for the Chinese market in Geneva at the end of the 18th and in the early 19th century. Imaginative shapes and decorative motifs were popular and the artists were incredibly creative in their work. Inspiration was found in nature and everyday objects. This led to a great variety of new decorative subjects such as heavenly bodies, hats, shoes, musical instruments, animals, plants and various fruit. The most popular types of this kind of watch were melons, cherries, peaches and strawberries; in China the strawberry watches were not only loved as decorative objects but also had a particular significance - strawberries represent goodness and purity and thus were the perfect gift for a lady, who would have understood the symbolic meaning right away. Similarly, the strawberry was considered the holy symbol of the Virgin Mary in Christian cultures.
Timepieces in this particular form were never produced in large numbers and those that have survived centuries are extremely rare - especially the watches that have enamelled and bejewelled cases.
Sold
estimated
26.000—35.000 €
Price realized
30.400 €