Swiss gilt silver verge watch with finest enamel painting Circa 1790

Gilt watch with rare Jacquemart figure automaton
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An extraordinary pocket watch with the finest enamel painting and rare Jacquemart figure automaton made by Pouzait in Genève, Switzerland, circa 1790. The open faced, engine turned case of the watch is crafted from gilded silver and has a bell. The unique enamel dial has a very fine polychrome enamel painting, a Jacquemart automaton with two flying putti striking the bells while repeating, applied gold flower decoration, central white enamel time indication with radial Arabic hours, outer minute divisions, Arabic quarter hour numerals and steel Breguet hands. The movement has a verge escapement and repeats the quarter hours.
Movement signed and numbered.
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Diameter: 52 mm
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Weight: 124 g
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Signed: D. Pouzait à Genève 
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There are only very few pocket watches with Jacquemart figure automaton from before 1800. This watch is one of them and also combines two extremely rare features for a Jacquemart: on the one hand the fantastic enamel painting and on the other hand the striking on a bell. The condition of the watch is excellent and can be almost described as good as new. It comes from an important French collection that was auctioned in 2015 and sold for about € 6.500.
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The Pouzait family
The Pouzait family was one of the most important Geneva watchmakers of the 18^th century. Jean-Moïse Pouzait (1743–1793) was a Swiss watchmaker and inventor in Geneva.