25,300 CHF
Titus and BereniceEdouard Juvet, Fleurier, made for the Chinese market, circa 1840. Fine, 18K gold and painted on enamel center seconds watch with special escapement. Two-body, "Chinese" style, with the gold cuvette hinged to the movement ring, spring-loaded back finely painted on enamel with a couple, possibly depicting Titus and Berenice, a sunset in the background, roses growing on a stone barrier to the left, bezels with a repeated champlevé enamel pattern of white flowers on a translucent scarlet ground. White enamel, Roman numerals, outer minute divisions with fifteen-minute Arabic markers. Gold "spade" hands. Notes Edouard & Léo JuvetOne of the important Swiss horological families working for the Chinese market. Edouard Juvet (1820-1883) was first established in Buttes in 1842, but in 1844 moved his workshop to Fleurier. He began making "Chinese" watches in 1856. Edouard's sons Ami-Louis and Léo traveled to China to work in the family firm. When Ami-Louis died there, Léo (1848-1891) took his place. In Shanghai, the Juvets were rivaled only by the Bovets, yet the two families maintained friendly relations. The Maison Juvet prspered, opening branches in Tien-Tsin and Saigon, to the extent that in 1872 Léo wrote : "Our watches sell like salt". In 1873, Edouard Juvet registered a trademark in Chinese characters which was used on the company's products. He granted his son Léo power of attorney in November 1875, and after his death in February 1883, Léo succee
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2002-11-16
