Louys Prevost
A gilt-metal pair cased astronomical verge watch with indications for day, date, month, phase and age of the moon and periods of the day Circa 1700
Auction Closed
May 14, 02:23 PM GMT
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 CHF
Lot Details
Description
Louys Prevost
A gilt-metal pair cased astronomical verge watch with indications for day, date, month, phase and age of the moon and periods of the day
Circa 1700
• Movement: gilded full plate, verge escapement, three-arm flat steel balance, short steel balance spring of two turns, decoratively pierced winged balance cock and foot with scrolling flowers and foliage, silver regulation plate, fusee and chain, Egyptian pillars, signed Louys Prevost
• Dial: gilded with stippled ground, three silver chapter rings for date, time with Roman numerals and half hour divisions and moon age incorporating aperture for moon phases, three further apertures for days of the week with corresponding astrological sign, months with their lengths and an engraved seasonal vignette, and periods of the day with the changing sky
• Case: plain gilt-metal inner case, split-bezel for glass retention, aperture for winding to back, gilt-metal outer with square hinge, decoratively engraved with scrolls and flowers, an urn to the centre
diameter of outer case 57mm, inner 49mm
At least two watchmakers by the name of Louis Prevost are recorded as working towards the last part of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries. One originating from Saumur in France was active from 1660 and later emigrated to Geneva; it is likely that the maker of this watch is, however, another Louis Prevost recorded as working in Geneva during the first quarter of the 18th century (both makers are noted in O. Patrizzi, Dictionnaire des Horlogers Genevois, p. 331).
Three similar watches were part of the Masterworks of Time Collection and were sold at: Sotheby's Geneva, 11 November 2019 lot 60 (signed Owen Robinson and Charles Fredman); Sotheby's London, 16 September 2021, lot 130 (signed Bareiht Menadier) and Sotheby's London, 2 July 2019, lot 37 (probably Swiss but bearing the signature Daniel Quare).