Swiss repeating watch with double waterfall automata Circa 1800
- Kenmerk
- AS1903
- Diameter
- 58 mm
- Estimate
- € 15.000 - 27.500
- Price sold
- € 11.700
Unsigned gold and enamel open faced pocket watch
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A Swiss gold and enamel quarter repeating watch with double waterfall automata and Jacquemarts, Circa 1800. This watch features a gilded full plate movement with a verge escapement, a decoratively pierced and engraved balance bridge, and striking coiled gongs on the inside back. It has an unsigned white enamel dial with Arabic numerals set on a gold plate with an opaque light blue enamel background. It has a chased and engraved gold balustrade with urns to the back, as well as applied gilt metal pedestals with two Jacquemart figures striking two bells held by a putti at the top of the dial. The Jacquemarts’ arms move in unison with repetition and each pedestal has a turning metal rod simulating water fountains pouring into a trough at the base. A swan within the trough bobs its head as the quarter hours strike, while a dog beneath looks on.
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Additionally, the watch has a gold case with an asymmetrical restored polychrome enamel painted medallion depicting a mother and child in a landscape setting. The back lacks translucent enamel and features opaque black and white enamel half roundels above and below with two applied gold love birds and a cherub, respectively. The bezels are adorned with blue translucent enamel highlighted with gold stringing interspersed by silver roundels, and the pendant is numbered 64.
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Diameter: 58 mm
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Signed: No name
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The clock is in working condition. The Jacquemarts, fountain rods and swans are all functioning. There is damage to the dial between 9 and 10 o’clock and a semi circular hairline crack between 6 and 7 o’clock. There is also damage and repair to the light blue enamel between the white enamel dial and the left hand Jacquemart figure, as well as some cracking to the dark blue guilloché enamel. The painted panel on the back of the case has been restored in soft enamel. There are some chips, scratches, and damage to the bezels, especially below the case catch opening and beneath the pendant. The inner edge of the case back has rippling, wear and some pinholes, the glass is loose.
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Jacquemart figures were a popular addition to repeating watches at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. Influenced by the ‘striking’ figures found on some early European clocks, the automated Jacquemart figures are synchronised with the watch’s repeating work, creating the illusion that they are producing the sound of repetition. Most repeating watches with Jacquemart figures do not include additional automata. The present watch is especially unique because it also displays the movement of the fountains and the bobbing swan.






















