Swiss 18 carat gold large musical pocket watch Circa 1800

Music watch with rare caliber
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A rare and exceptionally large music watch with unusual caliber, made by Pierre Frédéric Calame in la Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, circa 1800. This watch features a case crafted from 18 carat gold with a coined band, a finely engraved back lid depicting musical instruments and a cuvette with sheet music. The rare musical movement sits beneath the screwed white enamel dial, which features an outer minute and hour track with Arabic numerals and Breguet steel hands. The very rare movement with a view of the striking mechanism is equipped with a cylinder escapement and an hours and quarters repeater.
The dial is signed.
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Diameter: 62 mm
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Weight: 170 g
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Signed: P.F. Calame
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Calame
The Calame family name is deeply rooted in the Canton of Neuchâtel (specifically Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds), dating back to at least 1537. Because watchmaking in the 17^th through 19^th centuries was a highly interconnected “cottage industry” passed down through marriages, the family tree split into distinct, specialised branches.

This comprehensive lineage traces the family from its early Neuchâtel roots through the pioneering era of Pierre Frédéric Calame, leading into the major industrial watchmaking dynasties of the late 19^th century.

Pierre Frédéric Calame was a Swiss watchmaker and was born on January 25, 1761, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the son of Abraham Louis Calame and Marie Marguerite Renaud. On November 21, 1791, he is mentioned in La Chaux-de-Fonds as “maître faiseur de ressorts”. A watch of his is shown in the book “Technique et Histoire de l’horlogerie suisse”. The watch differs from the standard of a musical watch of that time because of its extraordinary size and the fantastically heavy gold case. The movement is also of particular quality.