Splendid English musical watch for the Chinese market Circa 1820

Gold watch attributed to Piguet & Meylan 
–
A splendid, large English 18 carat gold, enamel and pearl set musical pocket watch, circa 1820. Playing music on the hour or at will. Accompanied by the original Charman fitted box and a winding key. Made for the Chinese market. An Empire case with a reeded band, split pearl set bezels, pendant and bow. The case back with a polychrome enamel bouquet of summer flowers against an opalescent enamel ground, the scalloped border decorated in pale blue and white champlevé enamel and a hinged gold cuvette.
–
White enamel dial with radial Roman numerals, outer minute track, subsidiary seconds and gold spade hands. Gilt movement, going barrels for the going and musical trains, cylinder escapement, brass three arm balance, the balance and the steel escape wheel jewelled, flat balance spring, index regulator, sur plateau musical movement with 24 tuned steel teeth playing on both sides of the pinned disc.
–
Diameter: 62 mm
–
Signed: Charman  London
–
Dial, cuvette and movement signed by Charman, dial plate punch numbered. This large and heavy, beautifully decorated musical watch has a very high-quality movement almost certainly made by Piguet & Meylan, the main exponents of this particular type of sur-plateau movement. Despite being entirely of Swiss craftsmanship, this watch is very much made in the English style in particular the single-footed balance cock. It was ordered by Charman in London to export it to China. Because English-made goods were regarded by the Chinese as of superior quality at the time, when the London watchmakers ordered watches from Switzerland, their movements were made to appear English-made, although, at the same time, the cases were decorated with enamel very much to appeal to the Chinese taste. William Ilbery (?-1839) was Active in London from 1780.
–
Following James Cox in London and Jaquet Droz in Switzerland, he specialized in luxury watches made for the Chinese market. He set a new standard for watches made for the Asian market. Ilbery can therefore be considered the father of Chinese watches as they are known today. Ilbery’s watch cases were decorated by Geneva’s best enamelers, such as Jean-Francois-Victor Dupont and Jean-Louis Richter. He seems to have maintained close contact with the continental trade since a watch signed by Ilbery Paris is known and Ilbery & Son are recorded in London and Fleurier, as well as in Canton. Isaac Daniel Piguet Born in 1775 in Le Chenit in the Vallée de Joux, Isaac Daniel Piguet was the son of Pierre Moise Piguet and Elisabeth Nicole. He married Jeanne Francoise Capt around 1795, and around 1800 settled in Geneva with his family. Isaac Daniel Piguet went into business with Henry Daniel Capt, his brother-in-law, on February 10, 1802.
–
The association between Piguet & Meylan came to an end in 1828. Piguet and his son David Auguste established a new company, Piguet Père & Fils, located at No. 69 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He died in Geneva, on January 20, 1841. Philippe Samuel Meylan Born February 15, 1772, in Bas-du-Chenit, died in 1845. At 20 years old he came to Geneva where he worked for the Godemar Frères as a Master worker. Afterwards, he went back to Brassus where he founded a little factory in 1811. He then returned to Geneva where he settled. He met another watchmaker from his village, Isaac Piguet, with whom he entered into partnership, founding the Piguet & Meylan firm, which would last from 1811 to 1828. It specialised in minute quadratures, musical watches, skeleton or automaton watches, mechanical animals and figures, he is also credited with the invention of the bagnolet calibre.