Early French three colour gold automaton watch Circa 1770

Multicolour gold automaton
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A very important, extremely rare and very early French 18 carat multicoloured gold open faced Louis XVI pocket watch with hidden automaton, the spinner, made in Paris, circa 1770. The movement with a verge escapement. White enamel dial with Roman hours, an outer minute track, Arabic five minute numerals and original poker & beetle hands. The case back with three colour gold decoration showing a vase with flowers, musical instruments and sheet music surrounded by applied floral and foliage garlands, bezels en suite. The glazed, two train, ivory automaton is activated by depressing the pendant. Movement signed, case signed and numbered under the dial JCS/31.
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Diameter: 42 mm
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Signed: No name
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The present pocket watch is one of the oldest on demand automata ever discovered, dating from 1770-1780.

From the end of the 17th century, watches with animated scenes, which were made with a wheel mounted plaque that turned or gave the impression of continuous movement, started to appear. Created in a wide variety of scenes and settings, these were mostly made in Geneva. 

From the third quarter of the 18th century, a small group of German pocket watches with so called moving paintings were made. The continuous animated scene, featuring two movements, represents the Announcement of the Virgin Mary by Gabriel. Three examples are known, one signed Philip Happacher in Bavaria in Musée du Louvre, one unsigned in the Musée d’horlogerie du Château des Monts and another unsigned piece in the Museo Grassi. The only other known example is this particular watch, representing a spinner, provided from the collection of Adolf Ikle-Steilin and illustrated in “Montres et Tabatieres” by Alfred Chapuis.