Swiss 18K gold repeater made for the Chinese market Circa 1820

Gold, enamel and pearl set musical automaton
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An important musical automaton in a fancy case with a key made for the Chinese market, attributed to Piguet & Meylan in Genève, Switzerland, circa 1820. The open faced case of this watch, which was crafted from 18 carat gold, has both sides set with Oriental half pearls in complete original setting, a back lid with a top quality Geneva enamel painting showing a bouquet of flowers, an extremely fine, pearl set band with the dark blue and turquoise colour typical for Piguet & Meylan, the pendant and bow are decorated to match, next to the pendant there is an opening button for the back spring lid. The numbered cuvette is enamelled in two colours. The decentralized white enamel dial has Roman hour numerals, an outer minute track and blued spade hands, and a further figure automaton, in front of a polychrome enamelled background, is on the face below the time indication. The movement has a cylinder escapement, an hourly release of the music which simultaneously releases the figure automaton on the face, and repeats the hours and quarter hours.
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Diameter: 53 mm
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Weight: 127 g
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Signed: No name
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This watch can almost certainly be attributed to Piguet & Meylan, the most important Geneva maker of these automatons. In terms of value, it is to be placed in the top segment, as it has a repeater, musical movement, figural automaton, and a case with a valuable Oriental pearl setting and an enamel painting on the back. The case and the automaton show minor restorations. The polychrome enamel on the back has been partially professionally restored in the peripheral area. The plaque was removed, restored and reinstalled. A comparable automaton achieved a record price of more than CHF 900.000 in Geneva.
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The musical movement of the timepiece presented here still sounds very good after more than 200 years and the automaton of the lady with the hurdy gurdy still works. The young man with the lute, on the other hand, is not moving at the moment.