Swiss 18K yellow gold, enamel keyless pendant watch Circa 1898

Gold open faced portrait watch 
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A fine and rare Swiss 18K yellow gold and enamel keyless pendant watch, circa 1898. Made for L. & E. Fabre, Buenos Aires. The bezel and back are chased with classical floral and leaf scrolling, concentric port hole with the portrait of a lady painted on enamel, extended hinge, and gold hinged cuvette. White enamel dial, slightly convex, Roman numerals, outer minute track with five minute Arabic markers and gold Louis XVI hands. Frosted gilt movement, 17 jewels, straight line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance with blued steel Breguet balance spring.
Dial, case and movement signed.
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Diameter: 32 mm
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Signed: Vacheron & Constantin  Genève
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Jean-Marc Vacheron was born in 1731 and died in 1805. He founded a watch workshop in the Geneva district of Saint Gervais in 1755. In 1785 his son Abraham took over the then-still-small company. Their watches were favoured by the nobility, clergy and wealthy merchants. Sales deteriorated dramatically during the French Revolution and Abraham found himself confronted with numerous problems. He married and attached to his name, according to tradition, his wife’s surname. Thus the name of the workshop changed to Vacheron-Girod. At the beginning of the 19th Century, Abraham’s son Jacques Barthélemy Vacheron took over management of the company, which changed the name to Vacheron-Chossat. On numerous business trips to Italy, France and Germany, Jacques Barthélemy found new customers for their sophisticated products, including pocket watches with very flat movements for the time, hunting-cased watches and minute repeaters, built into expensive and elegant cases.
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In 1819, Vacheron brought in the son of a cloth merchant, François Constantin, as a partner to support the distribution of watches and the company became known as Vacheron & Constantin. Constantin had gained his first experience in the watch industry as a salesman for Jean-François Bautte and his exceptional abilities soon overcame the company’s previous financial difficulties. Sales figures rose significantly and Vacheron & Constantin began selling in New York by Jean Magnin and in New Orleans by Brey by 1830. In 1970 the ‘&’ was taken from the name, henceforth the company was called Vacheron Constantin. It is the oldest continually active watch manufacturer in the world. The brand logo is the Maltese cross. Today, Vacheron Constantin is part of the Richemont group.