French gold and painted enamel single hand watch Circa 1660

Gold open faced key winding verge watch
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A magnificent and exceptionally rare French 18 carat gold open faced single hand pocket watch featuring painted enamel, depicting The Holy Family, attributed to Pierre I Huaud, made by Jean II Rousseau (dit Le Jeune), mid 17th century. This watch has a mechanical key winding movement with a prebalance spring verge escapement, a two arm steel balance, and a ratchet and click wheel setup for mainspring regulation. The balance cock is intricately decorated with engraved and pierced foliage and signed on the backplate by Jean Rousseau. The single hand silver dial features a centre minute track, fine black Roman numerals for the hours, and an intricately engraved gilt centre field, signed Jean Rousseau.
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The timepiece is housed in an exceptionally fine, hinged, round, single body 18 carat solid gold case, masterfully decorated with painted enamels. The middle of the case is adorned with a continuous band of polychrome painted pastoral vignettes. The reverse back cover depicts a beautifully executed scene of the Holy Family accompanied by St. John the Baptist as a child. The inside of the back cover, as well as both the exterior and interior of the front cover, are further embellished with masterfully executed classic pastoral and biblical scenes,s including the Virgin Mary, St. John, and the Christ child. The watch is topped by a sturdy ring shaped suspension bow.
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Diameter: 36 mm
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Weight: 37.8 g
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Signed: Jean Rousseau
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This exceptional timepiece has a remarkably documented provenance, preserved within the same family by oral tradition since the end of the 18th century. It made its first public auction appearance at Bonhams in London on December 15, 2010 (catalogued as descending through a single family since 1790), after which it joined a distinguished private collection. Beyond its pristine provenance and artistic mastery, this watch represents a profound piece of horological and philosophical history.
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Its maker, Jean II Rousseau dit Le Jeune (1606–1684), was a renowned master watchmaker, juror, and the great grandfather of the legendary Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778). The Rousseau family formed an elite watchmaking dynasty in Geneva, spanning from Jean I (1580–1642), who specialized in sculpted rock crystal form watches, through David (1611–1738), to Isaac Rousseau (1672–1741), the philosopher’s father who served as the Watchmaker of the Seraglio in Constantinople for the Ottoman Sultan’s court. Although Jean-Jacques Rousseau famously pursued philosophy rather than the bench, his upbringing inside his father’s active workshop deeply embedded the meticulous discipline, precision, and mechanics of the craft into his consciousness—an influence often mirrored in the intricate mechanical metaphors of his philosophical writings.
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Timepieces handcrafted by Jean II Rousseau are exceedingly rare and highly coveted landmarks of 17th-century horology, with surviving examples of this calibre permanently showcased in world-class institutions such as the Patek Philippe Museum and the Musée d’Horlogerie et d’Émaillerie de Genève.