French 22 Carat gold and enamel pendant watch Circa 1685

Significant extremely rare pendant watch
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A significant, extremely rare gold and enamel pendant watch with enamel painting by the Frères Huaud, probably made by Simon Cuper I in Blois, France, circa 1685. This watch features a 22 carat gold and enamel case, with very fine enamel painting, extremely fine painting on the back, a depiction after the Rubens painting “Roman Charity”, a rim with four cartouches with depictions of different landscapes, in between yellow golden flowers on a blue background in typical Huaud style. These can also be found on the bezel. In between: floral tendrils. The inside contains another fantastic and very fine enamel painting, a depiction of a wanderer and something that is extremely rare to find in these type of watches – the inner side parts are also embellished with landscape scenes all around.

The enamel dial features a magnificent two tier design with a finely chiseled and engraved gold chapter ring, displaying bold Roman numerals for the hours and an outer track for the minutes. The center of the dial showcases a spectacular and intricately hand painted enamel vignette depicting a lone traveller walking through a serene, atmospheric landscape with lush trees and distant blue mountains.

The magnificent and historically significant gilded brass full plate movement is fitted with a single, finely sculpted steel beetle hand, typical of the late 17^th century,  an early verge escapement, a chain fusee, driven by a finely pierced and hand carved baroque balance cock decorated with elaborate floral motifs, a balance wheel and hand carved pillars.
The movement is signed.
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Diameter: 43 mm
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Weight: 72 g
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Signed: Simon Cuper Blois
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Cuper
There was a multi-generational succession of watchmakers named Simon Cuper. In fact, the name was passed down through at least three consecutive generations within the Blois horological dynasty.

According to historical records compiled by French genealogical registries, the lineage structured as follows:

• Simon I Cuper (1627–1693): The son of Michel Cuper. He was the first master watchmaker of this specific name in the family line, marrying the daughter of a prominent Blois goldsmith.
• Simon II Cuper (1656–c. 1725): The eldest son of Simon I. He followed directly in his father’s footsteps, becoming a master watchmaker in Blois. Because their career timelines overlapped significantly during the late 17^th century, high end museum and auction pieces from circa 1680 could easily belong to either father or son.
• Simon III Cuper (1696–1787): The tradition continued yet again. Simon II had a son baptised in Blois in 1696 who also grew up to practice the family trade of watchmaking.

Following the death of Simon III in 1787, the Cuper family watchmaking business effectively came to an end, mirroring the complete collapse of the historic horological industry in Blois.

While the Cuper watchmakers built intricate internal mechanical movements, they frequently purchased or commissioned outer cases from top tier enamel artists to complete their luxury timepieces. The Frères Huaud (Jean-Pierre and Amy Huaud), operating out of Geneva and Berlin, were widely considered the premier enamel painters in Europe during the late 17^th century.
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The watch presented here is an absolute rarity. A Huaud enamel case in combination with an early movement from Blois is an extremely unusual combination as the Geneva painters and the famous painters from Blois were in competition. Most of the pendant watches with the magnificent Frères Huaud cases received new movements between 1700 and 1750. This piece still has the original movement from around 1685, but it was “modernised” around 1720, converted to having two hands, and the presumably defective white enamel dial mounting was replaced by a solid gold one. Fortunately, the original enamel painting of the dial has been preserved.