Swiss 18K gold, enamel and diamond set lever watch Circa 1993

Gold watch attributed to Edgar Degas by Gabriella Rivalta
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A Swiss 18 carat gold, enamel and diamond set open faced keyless pocket watch made by Audemars Piguet in Geneva, circa 1993. The jewelled movement with a lever escapement. Gilt dial with applied decorative hour markers and dauphine hands. A case with stepped bezels, the snap on back with a polychrome enamel miniature surrounded by mounted diamonds. Dial signed, case and movement signed and numbered. Comes with an Audemars Piguet warranty and the original presentation box.
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Diameter: 47 mm
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Signed: Audemars Piguet Swiss
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Reference 35715.
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First seen on a pocket watch at the start of the 17th century, the art of enamelling is one of the oldest arts still practiced in horology. That being said, it is arguably one of the most difficult mediums to work with, requiring training, experience and meticulous execution. Seen here is the technique of polychrome enamel, where an enamellist has directly painted on the surface of the pocket watch with inspiration from famous paintings.
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A founder of the Impressionist movement, French painter Edgar Degas was most known for oil and pastel works depicting dancers. Not just the movement of the female form, but the culture on and off stage, power dynamics between dancer and patron and their human psyche. Able to capture intense emotion in his craft, Fin d’arabesque is a very fine representation of his incredible talent, illustrating a dancer holding a final arabesque at the end of her performance while clutching a bouquet of flowers, likely a gift from a patron.
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The present pocket watch belongs to a series of ten enamel patterns, all of them depict different stories including navy, falcon hunting or other mythical sceneries made by sophisticated artists especially for Audemars Piguet. Although the dial side can be ornamented differently from one another, they have the same reference number powered by the same caliber. This timepiece is a scarce example of Italian jewellery enamellist Gabriella Rivalta’s work.