English 18 carat gold watch for Chinese market Circa 1835

Fine gold enamel and split pearls set cylinder watch by Barraud’s
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A fine English 18 carat gold, enamel and split pearls set open faced watch made for the Chinese market, circa 1835, gilt full plate cylinder movement, finely pierced and engraved balance cock, blued steel screws, four arms balance. Gilt dust cap finely engraved with scrolled foliage. White enamel dial, Roman numerals, outer minute track and subsidiary seconds. Polychrome enamel to the case back with centred summer flowers bouquet on a translucent light grey guilloché back ground, pale green champlevé border, both bezels and bow highlighted with split pearls. Movement signed and numbered, dial numbered.
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Diameter: 61 mm
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Signed: Barraud’s Cornhill London
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For many centuries in China, timepieces have been greatly favoured as gifts, sometimes used as attributes of power or emblems of gratitude and friendship. This watch is a work of art, with a beautifully crafted case representing the collaboration between Swiss enamel workers and the renowned and eminent English watch manufacturer Barrraud. The Barraud family were makers of fine chronometers and high quality pocket watches. The most famous was Paul Philip (d.1820) who was Master of the Clockmaker’s Company in 1810 and 1811. His sons, John and James, traded at 41 Cornhill as ‘Barraud & Sons’ from 1813 to 1836 and later as Barruad & Lunds. This fine watch was made at a time when the British enjoyed unparalleled access to the Chinese market via their trading posts.