Swiss gold pocket watch with retrograde perpetual calendar Circa 1870

Gold watch retailed by H.R. Ekegrèn, Copenhagen
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A rare Swiss, 18 carat gold and enamel key-wound pocket watch with retrograde perpetual calendar, circa 1870. Retailed by H.R. Ekegrèn, Copenhagen. A polished case, the front cover with an engraved foliate monogram and a mermaid, the rim engraved: Presented to Sam Smith for faithful service by Mrs Theodorus Bailey Myers and Mrs Julian James, cloisonné enamel case back depicting Chinese junk vessels in a harbour. Hinged gold cuvette with apertures for winding and setting.
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White enamel dial with radial Roman numerals, outer minute track, subsidiary dials for the seconds and the months, aperture for the days of the week at 12, retrograde date sector. Blued steel Breguet hands, nickel-plated movement, 15 jewels, bar bridges, straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance with gold adjustment screws, blued steel Breguet balance spring, index regulator. Dial and cuvette signed by the retailer.
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Diameter: 51 mm
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Signed: H.R. Ekegrèn  Copenhagen (retailer)
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H.R. Ekregen was founded by Henri-Roberts Ekegren in 1856 and was a watchmaker to the King of Denmark. The enamel work is reminiscent of the work by J. Graff renowned for his exquisite artistry receiving commissions from Indian maharajas, European nobility and American industrialists of his time. For images of watches with J. Graff’s enamel portraits, see Jaquet, E. & Chapuis, A., Technique and History of the Swiss Watch.