Fine painted on enamel quarter repeating pocket watch Circa 1830

Very rare musical quarter repeating pocket watch playing music on the hour
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An extremely fine and very rare Swiss 18 Carat gold quarter repeating pocket watch with painted-on enamel scene and pearl set centre seconds. Playing music on the hour or at will. Attributed to the Frères Oltramare, Genève and made for the Chinese market, Circa 1830.
Four-body and empire case. On the back, a very finely painted-on enamel scene of two ladies in despair as a young man goes off to serve his country. Split pearl-set bezels, engine-turned band, bolt at 6 o’clock to activate the music, lever at 4 o’clock protruding from under the cuvette for music/silent. Hinged gold cuvette.
Gold dial with champlevé radial Roman numerals, outer minute divisions, acanthus engraved decoration between the numerals, engine-turned centre and outermost border. Blued steel serpentine hands.
Movement with gilt brass, fixed going barrel, cylinder escapement, three-arm plain brass balance with blued steel flat balance spring, sur plateau musical movement with a fixed barrel, 21 vibrating teeth, repeating on gongs activated by depressing the pendant.
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Diameter: 53 mm
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Attributed: Frères Oltramare, Genève
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Frères Oltramare Originally from Genova, the family settled in Geneva in the 17^th century. Branches of the family were engaged in the watchmaking trade by the second half of the 18^th century. The watchmaker Pierre Oltramare (1753-1827) had apprenticed under the “maître horloger” Jean Pattey of Passiery in 1768. The mark of F.O. is that of Louis-David-Benjamin and Jean Hughes. Both trained as “monteur de boites en or”, makers of gold watch cases. They worked together in an informal association and later entered a maker’s mark as the Frères Oltramare between 1810 and 1811. When Geneva was liberated from French occupation they re registered the same mark on November 4^th, 1815, their workshop was at rue de Coutance 82. The two brothers ended their partnership on March 31, 1826.