Swiss musical watch made for the Chinese market Circa 1820

Gold quarter repeating cylinder pocket watch
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A very fine and rare Swiss 18 Carat gold, enamel, turquoise and pearl set open faced quarter repeating musical pocket watch made for the Chinese market, circa 1820. Farewell to the beloved attributed to Piguet & Meylan, Genève. An Empire case, the bezels, pendant and bow decorated with alternating split pearls and turquoises, the band decorated to match, the back cover set with a finely painted polychrome enamel panel depicting a gentleman taking leave of his two daughters. Hinged gold cuvette decorated with opaque pale blue champlevé enamel and gold foliage, apertures for the going and musical trains.
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Gold dial with radial polished Roman hours, outer dot minute divisions, an engine turned centre and blued steel serpentine hands. A gilt movement, standing barrels for the going and musical trains, cylinder escapement, three arm balance with polished steel endplate, blued steel flat balance spring, index regulator, repeating on gongs activated by depressing the pendant, sur plateau musical movement with 23 tuned blued steel teeth playing on both sides of the pinned disc, playing music on the hour or at will, silence lever protruding from the edge of the cuvette, a bolt to activate the music on the band. Case stamped with maker’s mark F.O., movement numbered.
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Diameter: 58 mm
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Signed: Frères Oltramare  Swiss
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The enamel scene decorating the present watch is by a recognisable but as yet unidentified hand. Most of the enamels by this artist are fitted to cases by Frères Oltramare often with movements by Piguet Meylan.
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Frères Oltramare. Originally from Genova, the family settled in Geneva in the 17th century. Branches of the family were engaged in the watchmaking trade by the second half of the 18th century. The watchmaker Pierre Oltramare (1753-1827) had apprenticed under the ‘maître horloger’ Jean Pattey of Passiery in 1768. The mark of F.O. is that of Louis-David-Benjamin and Jean Hughes. Both trained as ‘monteur de boites en or’, makers of gold watch cases. They worked together in an informal association and later entered a maker’s mark as the Frères Oltramare between 1810 and 1811. When Geneva was liberated from French occupation they re registered the same mark on November 4th, 1815, their workshop was at Rue de Coutance 82. The two brothers ended their partnership on March 31, 1826.