Swiss early erotic gold and enamel verge watch Circa 1750

Gold cylinder watch with hidden erotic scene
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A magnificent Swiss 18 carat gold open faced timepiece known as The Two Goats, featuring a skeletonized movement and a concealed erotic scene, circa 1750. This watch has a mechanical key winding fusee and chain movement with a cylinder escapement, a skeletonized assembly with a large visible balance spring, and an advance/retard adjustment regulator. The white enamel dial shows black Roman numerals for the hours, a fine outer minute track, delicate Breguet style hands, and a winding aperture near 2 o’clock. The timepiece is housed in an exceptionally fine, hinged, round, three body, 18 carat solid gold open faced case. The front bezel is decorated with vibrant blue enamel and a border of red stones. The reverse back cover is finished with a translucent blue champlevé enamel scene depicting two goats grazing within detailed undergrowth. Inside the case is a secret compartment concealing a finely hand painted polychrome enamel erotic scene on the back panel opposite the movement.
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Diameter: 34 mm
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Weight: 38.6 g
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Signed: No name
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In the 18th century, naughty or erotic secret watches emerged as a peak expression of the art of dissimulation. Created mainly as custom special orders, these timepieces embodied the era’s flourishing culture of libertinism and widespread cult of secrecy. The intentional dichotomy between an outer, socially acceptable exterior and a hidden erotic scene beneath the movement allowed the owner to privately indulge in taboo imagery while maintaining public discretion.
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The striking dichotomy on this timepiece between the exterior pastoral scene and the hidden interior composition perfectly exemplifies the 18th century art of dissimulation. Emerging during a peak of libertinism and widespread cult of secrecy, these “naughty” watches were custom ordered by wealthy connoisseurs to privately indulge in taboo imagery while maintaining flawless public discretion.
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The choice of the two goats on the case back plays masterfully into this culture of hidden desire. In Rococo and Neoclassical decorative arts, the motif carried a dual meaning: on the surface, it represented the bucolic ideal of pastoral simplicity, rural harmony, and classical fertility linked to the mythological goat Amalthea. Beneath this respectable facade, however, lay a more provocative connection to Pan—the god of wild nature, sexuality, and untamed lust. By pairing these two goats on the outside, the watch serves as a brilliant emblem of its era, mirroring the eternal contrast between civilized restraint and the concealed truths of wild instinct hidden just beneath the surface.