Rare Swiss mirror image pair of duplex watches Circa 1865

Silver gilt, enamel and pearl-set watches for the Chinese market by Juvet
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A rare and attractive Swiss silver gilt, enamel and pearl-set mirror image pair of open faced duplex watches made for the Chinese market, circa 1865. Finely engraved floral and scroll decorated gilt finished jewelled key-wound lever movements, bimetallic compensation balances. Hinged glazed display cuvettes. White enamel dials with Roman numerals, blued steel spade hands and centre seconds. Large cases, ribbed bands, pearl-set bezels and rims, engine-turned backs decorated with finely painted, mirror image polychrome enamel portraits of a lady over translucent Royal blue background. Both cases signed with Juvet’s Chinese signature and numbered, dials and movements signed with Juvet’s Chinese signature.
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Diameter: 55.5 mm
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Signed: Juvet
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From their first arrival in China around 1700, lavishly decorated watches manufactured for the Far East took incontestably a prominent position in the league of the most sumptuous timepieces ever made, highly coveted treasures, guarded like gold by their fortunate owners ever since.
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By the late 18th century, Chinese patrons requested only superlative watches, featuring finely decorated movements and also complications including repeating, music or automatons. To satisfy their desire for aesthetics, the cases had to be finely enamelled with motifs representing nature or classical scenes, set with pearls and precious stones. Many of these marvels were made for the Imperial Palace in Beijing where they can be admired still today.
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Often lost over the centuries and in particular during the tumultuous times in China, notably the first opium war in 1840 followed by the occupation of Beijing, the second opium war and the abdication of the last Emperor in 1912, to name just some, the appearance of even a single ‘survivor’ of this extremely scarce species is always greeted enthusiastically by the connoisseurs. 
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The timepieces were serviced in a most professional manner between 1961 and 1962 by the celebrated watchmaker Louis Cottier of Carouge, Geneva, best known for his invention of the world time system.