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View full screen - View 1 of Lot 46. A rare agate, enamel, gold, mother of pearl, ruby and diamond-set desk timepiece, Circa 1927 卡地亞罕有瑪瑙、琺瑯、黃金、珍珠母、紅寶石及鑽石座鐘，約1927年製.

Cartier, Paris

A rare agate, enamel, gold, mother of pearl, ruby and diamond-set desk timepiece, Circa 1927 卡地亞罕有瑪瑙、琺瑯、黃金、珍珠母、紅寶石及鑽石座鐘，約1927年製

Auction Closed

December 9, 06:15 PM GMT

Estimate

100,000 - 150,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

A rare agate, enamel, gold, mother of pearl, ruby and diamond-set desk timepiece, Circa 1927

Dial: mother of pearl laque burgauté panel depicting a Chinoiserie scene, diamond and cabochon ruby-set hands

Caliber: circular nickel lever movement

Case: agate, yellow gold, blue enamel, cabochon rubies

Case number: 0433, 1324, 2533

Closure: brass hinged strut

Size: 80 x 67 mm

Signed: case, strut

Box: yes

Papers: no

Accessories: Cartier fitted presentation box

From 1919 to 1936, Cartier created some of the world's most extraordinary clocks. Cartier's Art Deco period creations took inspiration from Egyptian, Persian, Indian, Chinese and Japanese cultures and motifs. They were highly imaginative and fanciful, using a full arsenal of fine jewels and precious stones.

The luxurious dial of the present lot is made of lacquered mother of pearl. The technique of laque burgauté was employed, where black lacquer is applied to tinted and sometimes engraved mother of pearl, with silver and gold foil inlays. The composition is then polished in order to obtain a water resistant, high shine finish.

Similar examples are illustrated in Nadelhoffer, H., Cartier: Jewelers Extraordinary, pl. 55, and Barracca, J., Negretti, G., and Nencini, F., Le Temps de Cartier, pp. 108.

For similar examples of Cartier desk timepieces of Chinese inspiration, see Barracca, J., Negretti, G. and Nencini, F., Le Temps de Cartier, pp. 167, 169, 172-3 and 176.