Centuries of Time: A Private Collection
Centuries of Time: A Private Collection
Blondel & Melly
A fine and rare gold and enamel hunting cased minute repeating cylinder watch made for the Ottoman market Circa 1830, no. 16158
Auction Closed
May 14, 02:23 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 CHF
Lot Details
Description
Blondel & Melly
A fine and rare gold and enamel hunting cased minute repeating cylinder watch made for the Ottoman market
Circa 1830, no. 16158
• Movement: gilded, cylinder escapement, plain gold three-arm balance with compensation and parachute suspension, two polished steel hammers repeating on coiled gongs, polished gold cuvette secured with a screw and with apertures for winding, hand-setting and regulation, cuvette signed and numbered Blondel & Melly à Genève, 16158
• Dial: white enamel, secret signature beneath 12, Turkish numerals, outer minute ring, gold Breguet hands
• Case: gold, the front with scallop-shaped central medallion polychrome enamel painted with military trophies against a translucent pink guilloché enamel ground, surrounded by a border of translucent red enamel over a decoratively engraved ground with stylised flowers and fronds heightened by opaque white and translucent green enamel, opaque turquoise edge, the back decorated ensuite and with polychrome enamel painted musical trophies to the central panel, pendant and bow further decorated with red and white enamel, quarter turn piston through pendant for repeat, case back with maker's mark FM and numbered 16158
diameter 51mm
Blondel & Melly, active between c.1820-1850, are recorded in Geneva at Quai des Bergues 15 and later at the Rue Kléberg (see: Patrizzi, Dictionnaire des Horlogers Genevois, p.107). The firm specialised in fine quality watches for the Ottoman market; their watches were often of slim dimension and highly decorated with enamels, pearls and diamonds. This example is particularly unusual for incorporating minute repetition.
For a similar watch by Blondel and Melly numbered 13698 and also with minute repetition, see Antiquorum Hong Kong, 23 April 2006, lot 296.