Swiss silver pocket watch made for the Chinese market Circa 1870

Silver centre seconds cylinder watch
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A lovely silver and painted-on enamel centre seconds pocket watch, circa 1870. Made for the Chinese market. An Empire case, the back enamel panel is finely painted with a scene of three cherubs relaxing in the countryside. The bezels, pendant and bow with enamel, reeded band. Gilt-rimmed glazed cuvette. White enamel dial with narrow radial Roman numerals and outer minute and seconds divisions and blued steel spade hands. Frosted gilt movement, Chinese calibre with a free-standing barrel, cylinder escapement, three-arm gilt balance, blued steel flat balance spring, and index regulator. Dial and movement signed, case signed in Chinese characters.
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Diameter: 56 mm
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Signed: Bovet Fleurier
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Bovet Fleurier SA is a Swiss company that specialises in manufacturing and retailing watches. The company has a rich history, starting with Edouard Bovet, who ran a watch factory in London with his brother Charles Alphonse. In 1822, they moved the factory to Fleurier and focused on the watch trade with China. Other companies from Fleurier, such as Juvet, Charles-Henri Vaucher, Claude & César Vaucher, and Vaucher Frères, were also active in this business during that time. Around 1880, the Bovet company achieved a significant milestone by producing a pocket watch with a cylinder escapement that had a running time of one year, also known as an annual watch. This was made possible by incorporating an extra-long mainspring in a very large barrel and two intermediate wheels in front of the minute wheel.
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The Bovet company went through several changes in ownership over the years. It was acquired by J. Ullmann & Co. in 1918, then by Albert Bovet and Jean Bovet in 1932. In 1948, Favre Leuba acquired the name and production facilities, and Bovet continued to produce watches until 1950. The Bovet name was later sold to a cooperative of watchmakers in 1966, and in 1989, Parmigiani Fleurier SA acquired the name, leading to the creation of Bovet Fleurier SA. The company was eventually taken over by Roger Guye and Thierry Oulevay in 1989, and since 2006, it has been owned by watch collector and enthusiast Pascal Raffy. Bovet is a member of the quality association FQF (Fondation Qualité Fleurier).