Swiss 18K gold duplex watch for the Chinese market Circa 1870

Gold watch made for the Chinese market
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A Swiss 18 carat gold enamelled watch, made for the Chinese market and depicting Titus and Berenice with signature on the movement in Chinese characters, circa 1870. Gilt  movement with key winding, Chinese calibre finely decorated with engraved stylized and foliate motifs, suspended barrel, mirrored steel balance, flat blued balance spring, duplex escapement, advance/delay adjustment index on the balance bridge, rare signature on the plate in Chinese characters.
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White enamel dial with Roman numerals for the hours and Arabic numerals for the minutes, steel spade hands and steel central second hand, outer railway minute track.
Round case, fully enamelled, the edge decorated with white flower motifs on a red background, the back depicting the scene of Titus and Berenice, gold cuvette with finely chiselled decoration, two key-winding squares.
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Diameter: 57 mm
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Weight. 126 gr.
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Signed: Edouard Juvet, Fleurier

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Juvet: a dynasty of watchmakers for Chinese watches

This watch, made for the Chinese market, is a very beautiful example bearing the signature on the movement in Chinese characters of the Juvet house. These enamelled watches are among the most beautiful creations of the last half of the 19th century for the Chinese market.

Edouard Juvet is one of the most prestigious signatures of the second half of the 19th century for enamelled watches made for the Chinese market. And rare are the examples signed in Chinese characters, most often there is the mention of the name in the usual characters “Edouard Juvet”.

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Edouard Juvet (1820-1883) was one of the most eminent manufacturers working for the Chinese market. He opened his workshop in Buttes in 1842 and moved to Fleurier in 1844.Edouard’s sons, Ami-Louis and Léo worked in the family business in Shanghai where they were rivaled only by the Bovets.

The company opened branches in Tien-tsin and Saigon and prospered to the point that Léo wrote in his personal notebooks “Our watches sell like salt”.
In 1873, Edouard Juvet registered a trademark in Chinese characters that was used for all their products. After his death in 1883, Léo took over the management of the company.
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This example is decorated on the back with a painted enamel scene representing Titus and Berenice, certainly one of the most iconic watches made for the Chinese market by Edouard Juvet, of which few are known to this day with the signature on the movement in Chinese characters.