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| Index No. A7152 | Two Rare Watch Keys |
| Two very rare gold watch keys in a
fitted red morocco case signed "Desoutter - 4 Hannover Street - London
W.". An early 19th Century Swiss gold and enamel musical key. Gilt barillet movement playing on seven steel tignes. Engine turned octagonal gold case decorated with white and black champleve enamel. The movement is wound by rotating the top gold loop and released by a small gold slide at the edge of the key. |
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| Anonymous | Swiss | |
| Circa | 1820 | |
| Dimensions | 30 x 53 mm | ||
| A very rare early 19th Century French gold double sided calendar key. White enamel dials with black and gilt indications and signature, blue steel hands. On one side the days of the week, date and age of the moon are shown. The other dial indicates the month and corresponding number of days in a small subsidiary. The two centrally placed hands indicate the times of sunrise and sunset in Roman numerals. The indications are advanced by depressing a small lever which protrudes from the edge of the case after the watch has been wound, being reset by a shaft in the pipe of the key. | ||
| Signed | Etne Tavaernier | |
| Circa | 1820 | |
| Diameter | 26 mm | ||
| Etienne Tavernier invented this type of watch key while working in the rue de Bussy in Paris. A reproduction of the original instructions supplied by Tavernier for such astronomical keys is published by Mathieu Planchon in "Mus‚e r‚trospectif de la Classe 96, Horlogerie … l'Exposition Universelle Internationale de 1900 … Paris", p. 141, pl. CXVIII bis. This key differs from the most by the sunset and sunrise indications, which are found very rarely. |
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