French 18 carat gold and enamel chatelaine watch Circa 1850

Pendant watch set with diamonds
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An important gold and enamel pendant watch with chatelaine, set with diamonds in original box, made by François-Désiré Froment-Meurice in Paris, France, circa 1850. This watch has an open faced case crafted from 18 carat gold, a blue guilloché enamel back above which diamonds are set in a grid like decoration. The matching original chatelaine is also blue enamelled and set with diamonds and the special gold enamel dial is engine turned in the center and features a laurel wreath in between the blue Arabic hour numerals and very filigree hands, which are set with diamonds. The movement has a fine cylinder escapement and wolf’s toothing.
The cuvette, chatelaine and box are signed.
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Diameter: 30 mm
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Length: 130 mm
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Weight: 78 g
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Signed: Froment-Meurice
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Froment-Meurice
François-Désiré Froment-Meurice (31 December 1802 – 17 February 1855) was a French goldsmith who worked in a free and naturalistic manner in the tradition of Mannerist and Baroque masters. Many of his masterpieces can be found in important museums today, such as the Louvre. His works regularly achieve collector’s prices at auctions.