Swiss gold and enamel hunting cased cylinder watch Circa 1856

Kenmerk: SA1427
Diameter: 37 mm

Estimate: € 4.500 - 9.000
Price sold: € 7.350

Yellow gold enamelled full hunter
–
A Swiss 18 carat yellow gold and enamel hunting cased pocket watch, circa 1856. Cornflower and poppy. The cylinder movement is jewelled. White enamel dial with Roman hour numerals. The front of the case with a polychrome enamel scene depicting two flower girls representing a cornflower and poppy, insects playing instruments in the foreground, surrounded by a light blue enamel border decorated with gold scrolls, the back with translucent pink enamel over a guilloché ground showing a central bouquet of flowers. Cuvette signed and numbered.
–
Diameter: 37 mm
–
Signed: Patek Philippe
–
Comes with an Extract from the Archives confirming the sale of the present timepiece with an enamel painting in 1857.

–

In Patek Philippe’s early days, the company was not satisfied to rest on the laurels of their technical advances and, as such, also worked to create pieces of aesthetic beauty. At their display in the 1851 London Universal Exhibition, they advertised ‘enamel painting in flowers, landscapes, portraits and historical subjects’ alongside their newly patented stem winding watches. It is rare to find such an early piece bearing an enamel scene on both covers. Patek Philippe watches from this period generally do not feature figural scenes. Such pieces are highly sought after and coveted by collectors and curators alike. This watch is made all the more charming by its representation of cornflower and poppy as two flower girls, with a cricket playing the violin and a grasshopper playing a ratchet in the foreground. This whimsical scene is done after an illustration from Les Fleurs Animées, the 1847 work of J.J. Grandville. These anthropomorphic creatures later inspired Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

Signed: Patek Philippe