Swiss 18K gold quarter repeating pocket watch Circa 1815

Gold verge automaton watch
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A fine and rare Swiss 18 carat yellow gold quarter repeating automaton pocket watch, made by Piaget in Geneva, circa 1815. A round, open faced, plain case. Quarter repeater on two steel gongs, activated by depressing the pendant, leading the two striking Jacks and the animated scene with two functions The chiselled varicoloured gold scene shows two cherubs Jacquemarts striking the elapsed time, and, upper, on a balcony an automaton scene where Punchinello appears to strike the hour on the scythe of Father Time; all animated by the repeating mechanism. A white enamel outer ring with Arabic hours, minute track and blued steel hands. A gilded brass movement, with fusee and chain, verge escapement, monometallic balance and blued steel flat hairspring, pierced and engraved gilded continental cock. Movement and case are numbered.
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Diameter: 56 mm
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Signed: Piaget, Geneva
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Piaget SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker and jeweller founded in 1874 by Georges Piaget in the village of La Côte-aux-Fées, Switzerland. The company is currently based in Geneva and is a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont group. Piaget was initially founded as a manufacturer of watch movements but began marketing its own line of watches in the 20^th century.
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The company has won several awards for their designs and recently received an average environmental rating as Upper Midfield among 15 major watch manufacturers and jewellers in Switzerland by WWF. The speciality of Piaget SA is their expertise in creating luxury watches and jewellery. They are particularly known for their ultra-thin watches, which have set numerous records for their slimness. Piaget also creates stunning jewellery pieces, often incorporating precious stones and innovative designs. The thinnest tourbillon movement in the world is the Calibre 600P, developed by Piaget. It has a thickness of 3.5 mm.
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Punchinello: In this uncommon automaton scene, the figure of Punchinello enters the aperture at the top from the left when the pendant is depressed. After he has struck the hours, he disappears, and the cherubs below then strike the quarters. This type of watch is so rare that Alfred Chapuis and Edmond Droz found only a movement to illustrate it in their book Les Automates, p. 180.