Elegant Swiss gold skeletonized dress pocket watch Circa 1990

Skeletonized watch with hand engraved movement
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A very fine and elegant Swiss, skeletonized yellow 18 carat gold keyless dress pocket watch, circa 1990. A polished case, stepped curved bezel and band, transparent back, sapphire crystals and yellow gold feuille hands. Gilt, skeletonized, hand engraved movement, 19 jewels, straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance, self compensating flat balance spring, shock absorbers. Movement and crown engraved with the Blancpain logo.
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Diameter: 44 mm
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Signed: Blancpain  Swiss
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History of Blancpain
-1735: Jehan Jacques Blancpain registers himself as a watchmaker in the Villeret village records. He is the founder of the eponymous watch brand, which will remain family owned, handed down to his descendants, for almost 200 years.
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-1815: Frédéric Blancpain, grandson of Jehan-Jacques, upgraded the Villeret workshops. He modifies the watch escapement design and develops an ultra thin construction.
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-1830: Frédéric Emile Blancpain, son of Frédéric Louis, renames the company Fabrique d’horlogerie Emile Blancpain and launches the construction of what will become the largest watch manufacturer in Villeret.
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-1859: Louis Elysée Piguet opens his watchmaking workshop in Vallée de Joux. He transforms the old mill at Le Brassus, where the workshops for complicated watches and Blancpain Artistic Crafts are now located. His fame led him to create complex movements for prestigious brands in Geneva and elsewhere in Switzerland.
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-1932: Frédéric Emile Blancpain, representing the 7th generation running the family business, dies and leaves the company to his long-term assistant Betty Fiechter. She becomes the first female CEO of a leading watchmaking company.
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-1950: Betty Fiechter co manages Blancpain with her nephew Jean Jacques Fiechter. They will work together for 20 years until Betty retires.
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-1961: Blancpain became part of the Société Suisse pour l’Industrie Horlogère (SSIH), alongside Omega, Tissot and Lémania. Besides producing watches bearing its name, Blancpain becomes the centre for making movements for the SSIH group.
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-1982: Jacques Piguet, the heir to the family business created by Louis Elysée Piguet, bought Blancpain, which became the watchmaking manufacturer linked to Frédéric Piguet’s watchmaking movements. Then in 1983, Blancpain became a subsidiary, and Jacques Piguet hired Jean-Claude Biver as vice-chairman of Blancpain’s executive committee. Frédéric Piguet and Blancpain will be managed through joint ownership until the official merger in 2010.
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-1992: Jacques Piguet agreed to sell Blancpain and Frédéric Piguet to the SMH (Swiss Corporation for Microelectronics and Watchmaking Industries), which would, later on, become the Swatch Group.
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-2010: Frédéric Piguet is absorbed into the Blancpain manufacture.