THE PROPERTY OF AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN COLLECTOR

Swiss. A very fine, rare and attractive 18K gold, enamel and pearl-set musical snuff box with centre seconds watch, made for the Chinese market

UNSIGNED, MOVEMENT NUMBERED 1297, CIRCA 1810

Details

Swiss. A very fine, rare and attractive 18K gold, enamel and pearl-set musical snuff box with centre seconds watch, made for the Chinese market
Unsigned, movement numbered 1297, circa 1810
Gilt-finished cylinder movement, sur plateau musical movement with pinned brass disc and 20 tuned steel fan teeth, the music activated by a sliding lever in the band, rectangular box decorated with translucent royal blue enamel over engine-turned background and black champlevé enamel geometrical and floral motifs, rounded corners, hinged top panel centred by a glazed circular aperture with split pearl-set border revealing the white enamel dial, centre seconds, the dial set into a gold plate with light and royal blue champlevé enamel scroll and foliage decoration, hinged bottom panel revealing a compartment, with matching gold and translucent royal blue enamel male key, unsigned, movement numbered
82 mm. x 44 mm. x 17.5 mm.

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

The musical movement is in the style of the work of the renowned watchmakers and goldsmiths Isaac-Daniel Piguet (1775-1841) and Philippe-Samuel Meylan (1772-1845), amongst Switzerland's foremost makers of musical and automaton watches mainly for the Chinese market. Some of their movements were extremely thin, featuring the disc or sur plateau format with fan teeth, such as the present, a system believed to have been invented by Meylan.

More from Important Watches including Property from an Important European Collection

View All