50,000 CHF
Bouquet of Summer Flowers Ilbery, London, No. 2741. Made for the Chinese market, circa 1835. Very fine and rare, 18K gold and painted on enamel, pearl-set, center-seconds pocket watch with duplex escapement. Accompanied by a gold painted on enamel and pearl-set key. Two-body, "Chinese", the back finely painted on enamel with a bouquet of summer flowers on a translucent royal blue enamel over sunray engine-turning, half-pearl set bezels, pendant and bow, spring-loaded glazed cuvette mounted on the movement ring. White enamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minute and seconds divisions with fifteen-minute/seconds Arabic numerals. Blued steel tulip skeleton hands. 45 mm, gilt brass fully engraved "Chinese" caliber, 12 jewels, free-standing barrel, ruby duplex escapement, three-arm, uncut-bimetallic balance with flat balance spring, diamond endstone, index regulator. Movement signed. Diam. 55 mm. Notes William Ilbery (?-1839) Active in London from 1780. Following James Cox in London and Jaquet Droz in Switzerland, he specialized in luxury watches made for the Chinese market. His early production was in the English style, with a full plate movement and an English type single wheel duplex escapement; however for his highest quality watches he incorporated a spring detent escapement. The cases were in the style of those made in England at the time. Later, his watch movements were much inspired by the Lepine caliber with freestanding barrel, as were those of Jaquet Droz’s Swi
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2011-05-15
