69,000 CHF
Harbor Scene Louis-Elysée Piguet, No. 5310 2877 47766, enamel attributed to P.-Amédée Champod, made for the Chinese market, circa 1890. 18K rose gold and enamel double-train, grande sonnerie clock watch with minute-repeating mechanism and center seconds. Four-body, "bassine et filets", back cover painted on enamel with gold paillons, depicting boats against a sunset in a harbor and a lighthouse, band with red translucent and opalescent enamel over flinqué, bezels set with half pearls. White enamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minute track, gold "trèfle" hands set with ruby paste. 45 mm. (20’’’), gilt brass, 29 jewels, straight line calibrated lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, Breguet balance spring. Signed on the pillar plate under the dial "L. Eée Piguet". Diam. 56 mm. Notes The ebauche incorporates both keyless and key winding systems. The Chinese preferred key winding, which they considered more reliable, therefore the keyless winding system in this watch was abandoned in favor of key winding. The striking mechanism is based on Henri Golay’s design of 1859. An almost identical watch is described and illustrated in "La Montre Chinoise" by Alfred Chapuis, the plate following p. 212. A very similar watch with a different scene was in the Lord Sandberg Collection (see Antiquorum, March 31, 2001, No. 94). Louis Elisée Piguet (1836–1924) from Le Brassus, he made a number of exceptional timepieces, among them a "grande sonnerie" with seven ha
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2002-10-19