Property from the Masterworks of Time Collection
Brunner, Tien-Tsin & Chaux de Fonds
A gold, polychrome enamel painted and pearl-set centre seconds duplex watch made for the Chinese market Circa 1895, no. 1508
Lot Closed
September 16, 03:26 PM GMT
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from the Masterworks of Time Collection
Brunner, Tien-Tsin & Chaux de Fonds
A gold, polychrome enamel painted and pearl-set centre seconds duplex watch made for the Chinese market
Circa 1895, no. 1508
• Movement: gilt Chinese calibre, duplex escapement, flat polished steel three-arm balance, diamond endstone, hanging barrel, the whole finely chased and engraved with foliate decoration
• Dial: white enamel, Roman numerals, gold spoon hands, outer minute ring
• Case: 18ct gold, the back with polychrome enamel scene depicting a mandolin player with a noblewoman, possibly Lucrezia Borgia, followed by a bearded gentleman and a young page holding a crown on a cushion, both the bezels, pendant and bow set with pearls, movement signed Brunner, Tien-Tsin, La Chaux de Fonds, no 1508, case numbered 1508, plain polished gold cuvette with apertures for winding and hand-setting
diameter 59mm
An almost identical watch depicting the same scene and numbered 1509, sequentially the following number to the present watch, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 6 April 2013, lot 2463.
Although late in date for this type of Chinese Market watch, examples of this style of watch are known from an even later period - the Vacheron Constantin archival images included in Carole Lambelet & Lorette Coen's book, The World of Vacheron Constantin, include a Chinese market watch with typical pendant and enamel scene surrounded by pearl-set borders which is dated 1914 (see op. cit. p.312).