Elegant Swiss gold and enamel verge pendant watch Circa 1860

Gold and enamel open faced pendant watch by Henry Capt
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A fine and elegant Swiss 18 carat gold and enamel open faced verge pendant watch, Cupid’s Nectar, circa 1860. Matte gilt movement, bar calibre, eight jewels, cylinder escapement, three-arm balance, blued steel flat balance spring, index regulator. Hinged gold cuvette. White enamel dial with Roman hours, outer minute divisions and gold Breguet hands. A scalloped case, engraved borders, band, pendant and bow, the front overlaid with translucent green guilloché enamel and engraved gold flowers, the back with a polychrome enamel scene depicting a large red and white striped flower attended by three putti, one within the flower drinking the nectar from a glass against a translucent green guilloché enamel background. Dial and cuvette signed, movement signed and numbered.
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Diameter: 37 mm
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Signed: Henry Capt à Genève
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Henry-Daniel Capt was an independent Swiss watchmaker who specialized in watches with additional complications such as musical watches and automatons. Capt was one of the first in Geneva to use barrels and crowns in his automatons. He was born in Chenit in the Vallée de Joux in April 1773, as the son of Jaques Samuel Capt and Susanne Piguet. His brother was Charles Samuel Capt. On January 1st, 1796, he married Henriette Piguet. In the Vallée de Joux, Capt trained as an établisseur. Around 1789, Henry settled in Geneva and worked for renowned companies such as Jaquet-Droz, Godet, Leschot and his brother-in-law Daniel Isaac Piguet. In 1802 he went into partnership with Daniel Isaac Piguet, which lasted until 1811. When this partnership ended, Capt kept producing his pieces before entering another partnership with Aubert et Fils in 1830 as Aubert & Capt, located in Place Bel-Air, Geneva. The firm was taken over by his son, Henry Capt, in 1844. He opened a shop on the Rue du Rhône in 1855, which quickly gained an excellent reputation. During the 1870s, the Henry Capt company advertised that they were the only Geneva watch manufacturer to have a branch retail house in London. He also established branches in Paris, Nice and New York. The house of Henry Capt flourished for many decades. Henry-Daniel Capt died in 1841.