Swiss extremely rare silver bras en l’air automaton Circa 1800

Silver bras en l’air pocket watch 
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A rare bras en l’air automaton pocket watch made by Vaucher Frères in Fleurier, Switzerland, circa 1800. The open faced plain case of this watch was crafted from silver and has a reeded band. The original white enamel dial shows the central gilded figure of a soldier standing on a base displaying the time by moving its arms, Arabic hours on the right and the minutes on the left, gold floral decoration underneath. The movement has a verge escapement.  The movement is signed.
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Diameter: 57 mm
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Weight: 113 g
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Signed: Vaucher Frères
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Bras en l’air is a clock or watch in which the time is indicated by a human figure with moving arms that indicate the hours on the left and the minutes on the right on a vertical scale.
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The short production span around 1800 makes this verge clock a real rarity. It features a “bras en l’air” (arms in the air) automaton, in which the arms of the central figure mark the hours and minutes on the dial. Several of these watches by Vaucher Frères are known.
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Vaucher Frères, Swiss watch manufacture
Vaucher Frères was a watch manufacturer founded by Claude and César Vaucher based in Fleurier, Switzerland and Canton in Guangdong, China, operating from 1800 to 1866. A third brother Abraham Vaucher became an enameller and goldsmith. He probably worked for the company too. His daughter Jeanne-Marguerite married the watchmaker Jean-Jacques Jequier. Vaucher Frères became known for its so called bras en l’air watches.