Swiss thin gold and enamel cabriolet pocket watch Circa 1850

Gold and enamel lever watch by Duchéne
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An exquisite, thin Swiss 18K gold and enamel pair-cased Lépine cabriolet pocket watch, circa 1850. Bridge movement, side lever escapement and ring balance.
This piece stands out because of the exceptional quality of the case and the polychrome-enamelled scenes on a translucent green enamel ground, both bezels, pendant and bow chased and engraved, the inside inscribed A Christmas Present to Maggie From Husband Dec 25th 1855. White enamel dial with radial Roman hours, outer minute track, subsidiary seconds and spade hands. Cuvette signed.
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Diameter: 48 mm
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Weight: 90 g
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Signed: I & E Duchéne Geneva
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Duchéne & Fils produced generations of watchmakers in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the company Duchéne was renowned for its high-quality pocket watches. Louis Duchéne was a specialist in repeating pocket watches with automatons. The pocket watches were produced with enamel paintings, petite and grande sonnerie, date indication, minute repeating, or jumping hour. Patek Philippe also used the case manufactory during their early years.
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A pair-cased cabriolet watch. The cases of this type of watch are made in such a way that the inner case can be turned into the outer case so that the watch can be used either as an open faced or as a hunting cased watch. The purpose of the reversible case is to protect the glass and the dial from impact when wearing the watch, for ladies tied to a chain around the neck, for men in the pocket, especially during intense or vigorous activities.
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Lépine pocket watches are open faced timepieces with a movement with the arbour of the fourth wheel in line with the projected axis of the stem. A movement layout where the small seconds are at 6 o’clock and the pendant or crown at 12.