Swiss 18K gold and enamel cabriolet pendant watch Circa 1850

Gold watch with a depiction of the Madonna della Sedia
–
A very fine and rare Swiss 18K gold and enamel cylinder pocket watch with matching key, circa 1850. A cabriolet pendant watch with a depiction of the Madonna della Sedia by John Magnin & Guedin. Foliate chased outer case, the back with a polychrome enamel depiction of the Madonna della Sedia after Raphael’s original, within a shaped translucent dark blue enamel border and outer pale blue and white enamel border. Four-body inner case, the back cover decorated with a very finely painted on enamel alpine lake view, polished bezel and band, foliate engraved pendant and bow. Hinged gold cuvette. Gold dial with radial Roman numerals, outer minute dot markers, subsidiary seconds, the centre finely engraved with riverside buildings and blued steel Breguet hands. Frosted gilt movement, bar calibre, 8 jewels, cylinder escapement, three-arm flat rim balance, blued steel flat balance spring, index regulator. Cuvette signed.
–
Diameter: 43 mm
–
Signed: John Magnin & Guedin Geneva
–
John Magnin & Guedin (Veuve) worked in Geneva in the middle of the 19th century.
–
The Madonna della Sedia. The enamel scene on this watch is after Raphael’s ‘Madonna Della Sedia’ painted in 1514, today in the Pitti Palace in Florence.
–
A pair-cased cabriolet watch. The cases of this type of watch are made in such a way that the inner case can be turned into the outer case so that the watch can be used either as an open faced or as a hunting cased watch. The purpose of the reversible case is to protect the glass and the dial from impact when wearing the watch, for ladies tied to a chain around the neck, for men in the pocket, especially during intense or vigorous activities.