Important Swiss heart-shaped repeating musical automaton Circa 1820

Gold decorative musical automaton The Heart by Isaac Daniel Piguet
–
An extremely rare and important Swiss 18 carat gold, enamel, pearl and turquoise-set quarter repeating heart-shaped musical automaton pocket watch made for the Eastern market, circa 1820. Gilt-brass movement, Ø 44.5 mm, a standing barrel, cylinder escapement with inverted escape wheel, three-arm plain brass balance with flat balance spring, polished steel end-piece, an index regulator protruding from the edge of the automaton scene, repeating on gongs activated by depressing the pendant, an early sur plateau musical mechanism with fixed barrel and 17 blued steel tuned teeth acting on both sides of the pinned disc, activated by a button on the side of the case. A matte and polished gold dial with Roman hours, outer dot minute indexes, an engine-turned centre and blued steel Breguet hands. The massive case in the form of a heart is hinged at the top and entirely set with curving alternate rows of graduated half-pearls with a split-pearl-set bezel and bow, the pendant is decorated with blue champlevé enamel lines and a pearl terminal, the interior with fine turquoise, blue and white champlevé enamel and a gold foliate scroll border surrounding the automaton. The automaton is finely painted on enamel with a river landscape and trees, a chateau on the far shore, a windmill on a small hill with gold automaton sails, in the foreground two varicoloured gold children play on an automated see-saw, to the right a lady with automated arm plays the guitar seated on a grassy bank with a dog lying at her feet, apertures for winding and hand-setting with gold paillon indications. The case is punch numbered 549 on the interior of each half, the movement is scratch signed Isàc D.el Piguet Genève on the dial plate beneath the musical teeth and punched with the serial number 549, the pinned disk is also punched with the serial number and additional number 08.
–
Dimensions: 72 x 67 mm
–
Signed: Isàc D.el Piguet Genève
–
Isaac Daniel Piguet was born in 1775 in Le Chenit in the Vallée de Joux, he was the son of Pierre Moïse Piguet and Elisabeth Nicole. He married Jeanne Françoise Capt around 1795 and around 1800 settled in Geneva with his family. Piguet went into business with Henry Daniel Capt, his brother-in-law, on February 10, 1802. Later on, he met another watchmaker from his native region, Philippe Samuel Meylan and they entered into a partnership, founding the Piguet & Meylan firm, which was to last from 1811 to 1828. After the association between Piguet & Meylan came to an end Piguet and his son David Auguste established a new company, Piguet père & fils, located at 69, Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Isaac Daniel Piguet died in Geneva, on January 20, 1841, at the age of 66.
–
The fabulous heart-shaped watches by both Isaac Daniel Piguet and Piguet & Meylan made in the first quarter of the 19th century are to be counted amongst the small group of Swiss automaton and musical objects that may be regarded as the most extraordinary and fantastic ever produced and were considered suitable to be presented to Oriental Kings and Emperors by the European courts. Perhaps no more than four or five other examples are known to exist. One, formerly in the collection of Gustave Loup and subsequently in the collection of King Farouk of Egypt, sold in the Palace Collections of Egypt Sale by Sotheby’s in 1954 as lot 471.
–
This timepiece bears close similarity to a watch previously in the collection of Bernard Franck of Paris. The painted on enamel landscape scene for the automaton is evidently a variation of the same scene. The automaton of the present watch is however rather more interesting having two children on a see-saw, a musician and the windmill sails turning. Another example, now in the Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva and reunited with its pair was sold by Antiquorum, Geneva, November 13, 1999, lot 87.