Swiss gold watch with medallion châtelaine Circa 1770

Gold open faced key winding verge watch
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A fine Swiss gold open faced pocket watch with a matching chatelaine featuring exquisite grisaille enamel miniature paintings on a translucent vivid blue enamel ground, made by Philippe Terrot & Fazy in Geneva, circa 1770. This watch has a mechanical key winding fire gilded brass movement with a verge fusee escapement. It includes an intricately pierced and chased balance cock decorated with detailed scrollwork and a central ruby endstone, and a silver regulation disc signed Ph. Terrot & Fazy. The white enamel dial features black Roman numerals for the hours, an outer minute track with Arabic five minute numerals from 5 to 60, and ornate gilded Louis XV style hands.
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The timepiece is housed in an exceptionally fine gold open faced case with a plain polished caseband. Suspended from its original highly ornate gold chatelaine, it features two cascading oval medallions painted with classical figures in grisaille, flanked by delicate openwork floral garlands and geometric enamelled chains.
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Diameter: 50 mm
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Signed: Ph. Terrot & Fazy
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Philippe Terrot & Fazy was a highly distinguished late 18th century Swiss watchmaking partnership based in Geneva. It was formed by master horologist Philippe Terrot, from a renowned dynasty of Genevan watchmakers active since the early 1700s, and members of the prominent Fazy family. The firm gained great renown for producing ultra luxurious, complex timepieces for Europe’s high aristocracy. The workshop was particularly celebrated for its magnificent chatelaine watches, perfectly integrating high precision mechanics characterized by beautifully carved balance cocks and premium fusee movements with the peak of contemporary decorative arts. Their creations regularly showcased advanced ornamentation techniques, most notably grisaille miniature portraits over translucent enamel backgrounds often highlighted with fine gold accents. Today, authenticated masterpieces bearing the signature Philippe Terrot & Fazy or Ph. Terrot & Fazy are highly prized and found in elite public collections, including the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.