Very fine Swiss gold navette shaped ring watch Circa 1800

Gold, enamel and diamond ring watch
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A very fine and extremely rare Swiss 18 Carat gold, enamel and rose cut diamond set ring watch with visible balance, circa 1800. A navette shaped case, the bezel decorated with green champlevé enamel and gold stylized flower heads on a blue champlevé enamel ground, sliding cover opening to reveal apertures for winding, hand setting and regulation, the shank with foliate shoulders. White enamel, navette shaped dial, chapter ring in the lower half with Arabic numerals, outer dot minute divisions and Arabic quarter hour numerals, aperture for the visible rose cut diamond set balance in the upper half with a mirror polished plate and blued steel spear hands. A navette shaped, matte gilt movement, going barrel, cylinder escapement, blued steel flat balance spring, rose cut diamond set balance visible through the dial. Dial signed.
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Dimensions: 34 x 20 mm
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Signed: Bonna Fréres  Geneva
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These rare ring watches were made in Geneva as novel and intriguing toys for the rich and the aristocracy. What today would be considered a feminine object would have been perfectly acceptable for a man to wear during the period it was made; this is further highlighted by the large size of the ring shank. In the early 19th century a ring watch such as this would have been hugely expensive and regarded as a mechanical marvel in miniature. Bonna Frères Makers and retailers who were working in Geneva approximately between 1770 and 1800.  This watch is unusual because it has separate seconds dial instead of the more usual visible balance. To allow for the seconds dial, the balance is mounted on the backplate of the movement beneath a separate cock.