Swiss gold and enamel watch for the Ottoman market Circa 1855

Gold and enamel cylinder watch by Rossel-Bautte & Cie
–
An extremely splendid gold/ enamel Swiss lépine, repeating the hours and quarters, circa 1855. Made for the Ottoman market.
18K gold case, back extremely splendidly enamelled summer flowers and dome signed and numbered. Gilt Ottoman dial with applied decoration, engraved centre, Turkish symbols for hours, and blued Breguet steel hands. Extremely rare movement, repeating the hours and quarters, Lépine calibre, and cylinder escapement.
–
Diameter: 34 mm
–
Weight: 28 g
–
Signed: J. Frs. Bautte & Cie, Genève
–
Only very rarely are these small enamel watches equipped with a striking mechanism. Bautte & Cie in Geneva was one of the leading manufacturers of fine enamel and form watches for the Chinese and Ottoman markets.
–
Rossel Bautte & Cie, Swiss watch manufacturer
The company Rossel-Bautte & Cie was the company’s successor, founded by Jean-Francois Bautte. From 1855 the company was owned by son Jacques-Dauphin Bautte (1806-1885) and son-in-law Jean Samuel Rossel (1799-1881). From 1860 the company was continued under Rossel & Fils (Jean Samuel Rossel with Jaques Rossel).
–
The Girard-Perregaux factory took over the Bautte company in 1906. The company was then taken over in 1906 by Constant Girard-Gallet, then owner of the Swiss watch manufacturer Girard-Perregaux in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Some of Bautte’s creations can be found in the Girard-Perregaux Museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds.