Swiss 18K gold miniature bloodstone pocket watch Circa 1820

Gold bloodstone pocket watch by Jean-François Bautte & Cie
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An exquisite Swiss 18 carat gold and bloodstone miniature pocket watch with original key and box, circa 1820.
The case with fine coin edge, on the reverse bloodstone, dust cover signed and numbered. Screwed white enamel dial with radial Roman hours, outer minutes track and Breguet hands. Fine bridge movement with key winding and cylinder escapement. The original golden key is also set with bloodstone, the original box is furnished with blue silk and velvet on the inside, leather with gold print on the outside, with initials SBW.
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Diameter: 26 mm
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Weight: 13 g
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Signed: Jean-François Bautte & Cie, Genève

Bloodstone is a beautiful, mostly, dark green stone that features red or brown spots that form as a result of impurities in the iron oxide. These spots look like blood splatters, giving the stone its English name. The stone is also referred to as a heliotrope, and gets this name from the Greek words helio, meaning ‘sun’, and tropos, meaning ‘toward the sun’. It’s said that the colour is also reminiscent of heliotrope plants that face towards the sun. The solid green colour that encompasses the rest of the stone is brought in as a result of the amphibole or Chlorite minerals found in the green Chalcedony. Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica that’s composed of fine intergrowths of moganite and quartz, the minerals that make up most agate stones too. Because of its varied composition, the green in bloodstone is not always evenly distributed and may have blue or yellow streaks in addition to green. It has been a popular gemstone for at least two thousand years.

Jean Francois Bautte, a Swiss watch manufacturer, guillocheur, goldsmith and dealer–
Jean-Francois Bautte was born on March 26, 1772, in Geneva. He was the son of the enamel painter Abraham Bautte (c. 1745-1772) and Marie Anne Mare (1747-1782). Jean-Francois was orphaned early as a baby. He later began working as a messenger for the case maker Jacques-Dauphin Moulinié (1761-1838), where he learned the craft of a case maker. This was followed by training as a guillocheur, watchmaker and goldsmith. In 1791, the 19-year-old created his first watches.
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Moulinie & Bautte
On August 1, 1793, he became Moulinié ‘s partner under the company name Moulinié & Bautte, case makers. This was followed by training as a guillocheur, watchmaker and goldsmith. From 1791, the 19-year-old created his first watches. Moulinié and Bautte also traded in complete watches; the movements were usually bought in while the cases came from their production.
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Marriage
During this time, he married Susanne Jeanne Grandpierre. From this marriage, three children were born, Anne Bautte (1794-1875), Catherine Bautte (1796-1873) and Jacques-Dauphin Bautte (1806-1885). After Susanne died in 1832, he married Marthe Elisabeth Jacqueline Sechehaye (1794-1818) a year later .
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Moulinie, Bautte & Moynier
After the Napoleonic Wars, the small factory grew into a manufactory that united all watchmaking crafts of the time under one roof. Watchmaker Jean-Gabriel Moynier joined the company on October 1, 1804. The company was now called “Moulinié, Bautte & Moynier” or “Moulinié, Bautte & Cie”. In those years, Bautte was the most important watch dealer in Geneva. The perfect craftsmanship, for which only the purest gold and enamel in wonderful colour nuances were used, impressed the customers immensely – such a quality was otherwise only found in Paris or London. As an outstanding businessman, Bautte traded with all European royal courts and thus became one of the most famous watchmakers.
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Rossel Bautte & Cie
After his death, Jacques-Dauphin Bautte and Jean Samuel Rossel took over this factory, and it was renamed Rossel-Bautte & Cie . Jean Samuel Rossel was the son-in-law and married Catherine Bautte. The name was later changed to Rossel & Fils. The Bautte company was taken over by the Girard-Perregaux factory in 1906.
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Jean-Francois Bautte died on November 30, 1837, and was buried at Plainpalais Cemetery in Genève.