Very fine Swiss verge made for the Chinese market Circa 1820

Gold, enamel and pearl-set open faced verge watch
–
A very fine Swiss 18 carat gold, enamel and pearl-set open faced verge pocket watch made for the Chinese market, circa 1820. Gilt-brass full plate movement, circular pillars, fusee and chain, verge escapement, brass three-arm balance, flat balance spring, two-footed cock pierced and engraved, rack and pinion regulator with silver plate. Hinged gilt cuvette. Matted gold dial, engine-turned centre, champlevé Roman chapter ring, outer minute dot divisions and original gold serpentine hands. Spring-loaded case back with finely painted on enamel scene of two children, a girl feeding ducks and a boy holding an eager dog in a woodland landscape, pearl-set bezels, the band pearl-set with translucent red enamel over engine-turning. Case numbered.
–
Diameter: 44 mm
–
Signed: No name
–
This piece is illustrated in the book of the watch collection of Lord Sandberg, pages 328-329. A strong tradition of charming rustic scenes painted on enamel was established in Geneva during the first quarter of the 19th century. The export of watches to China and the east required not only mechanical ingenuity but superb decorative appeal. What particularly appealed to these markets were images of children involved in charming rural pursuits. Artists in England such as George Moreland and Francis Wheatley painted scenes of idealized rural English life and were copied via engravings by the Geneva enamel painters.