Piguet & Meylan

* gilt full-plate cylinder movement, plain three-arm mono-metallic balance wheel with polished steel endplate, repeating on gongs, index regulator, musical movement with 23 vibrating teeth playing on both sides of the pinned disc * gold cuvette with champlevé enamelled scene depicting musical instruments, bolt at 6 o'clock to activate the music, lever at 4 o'clock for music/silent  * white enamel dial, Roman numerals, gilt lozenge hands, center seconds * the back with seed-pearl and floral motif in red and green against transluscent imperial blue enamel, the center with a painted miniature representing an allegory of Autumn attributed to Jean-Abraham Lissignol (1749-1819), bezel decorated with seed pearls, the band, stem and bow similarly decorated * movement stamped PM for Piguet & Meylan, inside case stamped with maker's mark F.O. for Freres Oltramere 

Antiquorum, Geneva 12th November 2006, lot 49.

Movement running, quarter repeating operational but striking out-of-phase while cataloguing and will need attention; music complete and will benefit from cleaning . Minute and hour hands not advancing and will need attention. Enamel dial is good condition, with only minor chips to outer edge and hairline visible between VII and VIII. Front case: Enamel Portrait is exceptional painted and in excellent condition, with only light scuffs but hardly noticeable. Some restoration to blue enamel border between 7 and 9 o'clock. Minor enamel loss and repair on case, case band and on bow and pendant. Front bezel is a replacement. Cuvette: Significant chip and soft enamel restoration at 9 o'clock to musical scene on cuvette. Hinges in good condition. Overall case appears in good condition. The color and finish of the interior and back panels is polished, rather than matte as a result of restoration work completed on the panels, however still retains the case maker's mark and serial number. Five seed pearls missing on front edge of the case and one seed pearl missing on front panel. Rim around dial clearly numbered 6019. Inside of case back numbered 6019 and clearly stamped F.O. with case maker's mark. Inside of cuvette clearly numbered 6019 and stamped with case maker's mark, but this is rubbed and not easily legible. Dial signed Vaucher Fleurier, and thus is period but associated at a later date. Hands have been replaced.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. All dimensions in catalogue descriptions are approximate. Condition reports may not specify mechanical replacements or imperfections to the movement, case, dial, pendulum, separate base(s) or dome. Watches in water-resistant cases have been opened to examine movements but no warranties are made that the watches are currently water-resistant. Please note that we do not guarantee the authenticity of any individual component parts, such as wheels, hands, crowns, crystals, screws, bracelets and leather bands, since subsequent repairs and restoration work may have resulted in the replacement of original parts. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue. In particular, please note it is the purchaser's responsibility to comply with any applicable import and export matters, particularly in relation to lots incorporating materials from endangered species.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

**Please be advised that bands made of materials derived from endangered or otherwise protected species (i.e. alligator and crocodile) are not sold with the watches and are for display purposes only. We reserve the right to remove these bands prior to shipping.

Important Notice regarding importation into the United States of Rolex watches
Sotheby's cannot arrange for the delivery of Rolex watches to the United States because U.S. laws restricts the import of Rolex watches. The buyer or a designated agent may collect the property in the country of sale."

A similar watch, The Piguet & Meylan "Allegory of Summer" was sold in Sotheby's Geneva on 13th November 2007 for CHF 505,000.  It is interesting to note that the above watch was Piguet & Meylan no. 6018.  It was made as a mirror pair with Piguet & Meylan no. 6017 which was sold at Antiquorum, Geneva, 11th November, 2006, lot 51.  Both of these incredibly rare watches are now displayed in the Patek Philippe Museum.  A watch from the same series which bears an allegory of "Winter" is also in the Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva.

A further similar watch from the same series is described and illustrated in Chapuis, A, Montres et Émaux de Genève, Collection H. Wilsdorf, Rolex, 1944, pp.207-209 & pl.41.

The firm, Piguet & Meylan, was formed by Isaac-Daniel Piguet and Philippe Samuel Meylan in 1811. Piguet was born at Le Chenet in 1775. He settled in Geneva and became Burgher in 1812, one year after he had gone into partnership with Philippe Samuel Meylan to undertake the "manufacture of watches, jewellery and mechanisms of all kinds." Piguet specialized in complex watches with carillons and clock watches. Meylan was born in le Brassus in 1772 and is credited with adapting "tongues of sonorous metal for the combs of musical movement suitable for watches and other small objects. He is responsible for the famous magician automaton boxes and barking dog automaton watches."

Piguet & Meylan are particularly known for their watches made for the Chinese Market and, as such decoration was very important to the creation of all their pieces, so they employed some of the best enamel painters to decorate their watches. Examples of their works can be seen in many of the world's foremost collections, including the Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Musée d'Horlogerie, Locle.

Jean-Abraham Lissignol (1749-1819), known as Pére Lissignol to distinguish him from his son Abraham also an enameller in Geneva, was trained by Jean-Marc Roux. As well as painting portrait miniatures, he supplied the Fabrique with plaques for snuff boxes and watch cases. He appears to have specialised in allegorical subjects. In 1806, Père Lissignol wrote eloquently to the Paris authorities (Geneva then being occupied by France) suggesting that the Imperial Court buy enamelled trinkets to encourage the failing trade in Geneva, just as they had bought Lyons silk to help that market recover (Geneva archives). Brothers Louis-David-Benjamin Oltramare, born 30 August 1781 and Jean-Hugues Oltramare, born 2 February 1786, were both trained as 'monteurs de boîtes en or' (makers of gold watch cases). Coming from a family of artisans with a horological background, they worked together in an informal association and entered a maker's mark as the Frères Oltramare in 1810/11. When Geneva was liberated from French occupation and they re-registered the same mark on 4 November 1815, their workshop was at rue de Coutance 82. The association was dissolved on 31 March 1826.