Swiss silver full hunter cased watch with enamel painting Circa 1780

Rare full hunter cased dodecahedron verge watch
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A rare full hunter cased watch with enamel painting, made by Courvoisier & Comp. in la Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, circa 1780. This plain numbered full hunter cased dodecahedron (twelve cornered) watch is crafted from silver and its face has a an oval cartouche with an enamel magnifying glass painting above the off center white enamel dial with black Arabic hour numerals and gold hands. The movement has a rare verge  escapement.
Dial and movement are signed.
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Diameter: 56 mm
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Weight: 105 g
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Signed: Courvoisier & Comp.
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Courvoisier & Comp.
The story begins with Louis Courvoisier (1758-– 1832), who in 1787 was taken on by his father-in-law Josué Robert in the company he founded around 1770. From then on, the company was called J. Robert & Fils, Courvoisier & Cie. In 1795, the company name was changed to Robert & Courvoisier. Eventually, Courvoisier took over the watchmaking department and from 1811 the company was called Courvoisier & Cie, based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Geneva and Paris. Besides Louis Courvoisier, Jean-Pierre Robert and Humbert-Droz were also partners. Louis Courvoisier was probably very fond of travelling and had, among other things, established trade relations with Russia as early as 1815. At that time, Courvoisier was one of the most important Swiss manufacturers of travel clocks.

Louis Courvoisier had five sons and three daughters. The three sons Henri Louis (1796 – 1867), Frédéric Alexandre (1799 – 1854) and Philippe Auguste (1803 – 1873) were all associated with the company in one way or another. In 1825, Louis Courvoisier handed over the management of the company to Frédéric Alexandre Courvoisier. Frédéric Alexandre travelled for the company mainly on business but returned frequently to La Chaux-de-Fonds to attend to company matters and political issues. The Courvoisier name remained associated with high quality timepieces, contributing to the brand’s enduring legacy in the luxury watch market.