79,580 CHF
“The Barking Dog” I. D. Piguet & P. Meylan, Geneva, No. 174. Made circa 1820. Very rare and very fine 18K gold, quarter-repeating "barking dog" automaton watch. To be sold without reserve. Four-body, "Empire", polished back, reeded band, gold glazed hinged cuvette. White enamel, eccentric, set at the top of a dark blue translucent guilloché enamel plate, radial Roman numerals, outer minute track and Arabic quarter hour numerals. Gold "spade" hands. Lower part with applied varicolored gold and silver automaton scene of a dog barking at two billing doves in a floral arbour, the dog moves its head with each movement of the bellows, the whole on applied gold grass. 48 mm., gilt brass half plate, free-standing barrel, cylinder escapement, steel escape wheel, plain three-arm brass balance, flat balance spring. The repeating barking mechanism with a round bellows and whistle is activated by depressing the pendant. Punched on the movement with maker’s trademark Diam. 55 mm. Notes This watch repeats the hours and quarters with the sound of a barking dog; the rarest form of repeating. There are only approximately 20 "barking dog" watches known. There is a controversy as to whether the company employed only one series of consecutive numbers or used separate series for certain types of watches. Although the numbers of Piguet & Meylan watches go up to the 7000’s, the barking dog numbers are lower than 300. It is possible that the company started its production with barking d
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2005-10-16
