A10633

Rare Chinese Market Duplex with Enamelled Movement

£19,000.00

Anonymous    Swiss
Circa   1860
Diameter   57 mm         

Out of stock

Description

A rare mid 19th Century enamelled duplex for the Chinese market in a plain silver case.  Keywind  movement with gilt champleve blue enamel cock and bridges.  The suspended going barrel decorated with red champleve enamel.   Gilt engine turned plate.  Garnet endstone in a gold engraved setting, polished steel regulator.   Blue steel screws.  Polished and blue steel three arm balance, decorative gilt weights, spiral hairspring.  Steel crab tooth duplex escape wheel allowing the hand to appear to beat seconds.  White enamel dial with Roman numerals, centre seconds, blue steel hands.  Plain silver open face case, silver oval pendant and bow, button to release the back cover which is marked in Chinese characters within a oval.   Glazed engraved silver sprung cuvette with apertures for winding and hand set.

A rare example in excellent overall condition.  In 1858, a Genevan craftsman called Pelaz, living in Fleurier, introduced enamelled bridges adapted for of Chinese Market movements. They created enormous interest, but very few were made due to the delicacy of the pieces and the fact that the temperatures involved in the enamelling process sometimes caused the bridges to distort, which affected the going of the movements.  See: A. Chapuis, La Montre Chinoise, Neuchatel, page 170 and colour plate.

Related products