Enamel & Decorative Watches
Showing 1–12 of 85 results
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Early Silver Sun and Moon Verge
A late 17th Century English verge with silver champleve sun and moon dial in silver pair cases. Deep full plate fire gilt movement with pierced tulip pillars. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Pierced and engraved cock with small wings, broad pierced and engraved foot. Plain steel balance, silver regulator disc. Silver champleve dial, Arabic numerals for the minutes, blue steel poker hand. The hours are indicated by a blue steel disc set with engraved gold sun and silver moon and stars which rotates once every 24 hours. This is viewed through a semi-circular aperture, the edge marked with the hours six through twelve and back to six in Roman numerals. As the sun disappears at the right of the aperture the moon appears at the left. The lower half of the dial decoratively chased and engraved with two birds and signed in an oval cartouche. Plain silver pair cases, the outer with faint traces of gilding.
Circa 1695£8,750.00 Add to cart -
Rare Silver and Tortoiseshell Verge
A rare late 17th Century English verge in fine silver and tortoiseshell pair cases. Deep full plate fire gilt movement with elaborately pierced and engraved pillars. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Pierced and engraved winged cock with mask, pierced and engraved foot. Plain steel balance, silver regulator disc. Signed silver champleve dial with Roman and Arabic numerals, blue steel beetle and poker hands. Plain silver inner case with split bezel, large central circular shutter to the winding aperture, silver pendant and stirrup bow. Fine outer case covered in tortoiseshell which is inlaid in a decorative foliate design with engraved silver and mother of pearl. The front bezel covered in tortoiseshell and similarly decorated. Silver bezels and square seven joint hinge.
An impressive watch. The decorative work on the outer case is unusually extravagant and is in extremely fine condition. Mother of pearl is a delicate material, seldom used on watch cases. It is very rare to find cases employing this technique in reasonable order, this one has survived almost undamaged. Michael Johnson London and Barnard Castle 1687 – 1704Circa 1695£39,000.00 Add to cart -
Early English Mock Pendulum Verge
A late 17th Century English verge with mock pendulum in gilt and horn pair cases. Deep full plate fire gilt movement with Egyptian pillars. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Gilt winged cock with glazed aperture to reveal the blue steel pendulum bob on the balance. Pierced and engraved foot, the table engraved with instructions about regulating the watch "to increase the figure will make it goe faster & to Decrease it Slower". Engraved on the top plate below the balance the index in Roman numerals and "Slower – Faster". Unusual exposed blue steel regulator wheel. Signed silver champleve dial with Roman and Arabic numerals, blue steel hands. Purpose made gilt pair cases, the outer covered with horn.
Circa 1700£4,900.00 Add to cart -
Rare Early Automaton Repeater
A rare early 18th Century English quarter repeating verge with automated champleve dial. Deep full plate fire gilt movement with turned baluster pillars. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Pierced and engraved winged cock with mask, pierced and engraved foot. Plain steel balance, silver regulator disc. Push pendant quarter repeating on a bell in the case. Two polished steel hammers, engraved edge to the repeating resting barrel and deep edge to the dial plate. Silver champleve dial with Roman and Arabic numerals, blue steel beetle and poker hands. In the centre a pierced gilt representation of a bell over a blue steel ground. Either side of the bell are the engraved heads of dragons which appear to strike it when the watch is repeated. Silver inner case, pierced and engraved foliate scenes containing dragons and birds. Silver repousse outer case chased and engraved with a scene of Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruitful abundance. Pierced and engraved sections at the quarters separated by cartouches containing a dragon, fish bird of prey and a squirrel.
Jean François Poncet was a famous German watchmaker from Dresden. He was watchmaker to the duke of Saxony as well as to the king of Poland.We have not seen automaton work on the dial of a watch of this period. It pre-dates the examples found on continental quarter repeaters by almost a hundred years.Circa 1710£13,500.00 Add to cart -
Silver and Horn Champleve Dial Verge
An early 18th Century verge with calendar champleve dial in silver and horn pair cases. Deep full plate fire gilt movement with decorative pierced and engraved pillars. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Pierced and engraved bridge cock, pierced and engraved plate for the silver regulator disc. Plain three arm brass balance,. Signed silver champleve dial with engraved brass edge, arcaded minute ring. Small square aperture for the date indication in the central pierced and engraved silver mask over a blue steel ground. Roman and Arabic numerals, fine gilt hands. Plain silver inner case with large central rotating shutter for the winding aperture. Silver bezels to the outer case, covered in horn and decorated with an elaborate geometric pattern of silver pique pins.
Circa 1710£6,850.00 Add to cart -
Early Silver Pair Case with Enamel Plaque
An early 18th Century English verge with unusual pillars in silver repousse pair cases set with a polychrome enamel plaque. Deep full plate fire gilt movement with unusual broad elaborately pierced pillars. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Pierced and engraved winged cock with mask, pierced and engraved foot. Plain steel balance, silver regulator disc. White enamel dial with Roman and Arabic numerals, arcaded minute ring, pierced gilt hands. Plain silver inner case, maker's mark “IDF” below a crown. Silver repousse outer case set with a polychrome enamel plaque depicting a couple embracing.
Circa 1720£3,650.00 Add to cart -
Rare Early Verge Pocket Watch with Garden of Eden Automation
A fine and rare 18th Century English verge with automated scene in a gold consular case. Deep full plate fire gilt movement with gilt dust ring. Turned baluster pillars, fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. The winged cock and regulator plate left plain, being neither pierced or engraved. Plain gilt balance. A central stalk supports the scene and carries a wheel which is driven by another mounted on the contrate wheel arbor. Fine white enamel dial with apertures for winding and regulation of the watch. Roman and Arabic numerals, blue steel beetle and poker hands. Plain gold consular case, maker's mark “IB”. A glazed aperture on the back reveals a gold chased and engraved repousse scene depicting Eve offering Adam the apple in the Garden of Eden. A snake circles the scene as the watch runs, its support hidden under the pierced and engraved border of the dust cover.
A rare watch in excellent overall condition. Surprisingly the specially designed movement is not signed and the maker has not decorated the cock as it remains concealed under the dust ring which is secured by two screwsCirca 1730£16,500.00 Add to cart -
Gold and Enamel Repeater and Chatelaine
An 18th Century English quarter repeating verge in gold and enamel pair cases and chatelaine with Chinese style decoration. Full plate fire gilt movement with turned baluster pillars. Pierced and engraved masked cock, diamond endstone in a blue steel setting, pierced and engraved foot and plate for the silver regulator disc. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Plain three arm gilt balance, blue steel spiral hairspring. Push pendant quarter repeating on a bell in the case. White enamel dial with Roman and Arabic numerals, pierced gilt hands. Pierced and engraved 22 carat gold inner case, foliate decoration inhabited by birds and dolphins, gold push pendant. Steel pulse piece to silence the bell. Unusual pierced and engraved 22 carat gold outer case decorated with a scene in Chinese style depicting a pagoda, peacock, fox and rabbits partly overlaid with transparent dark blue enamel. Maker’s mark “DA”. Matching solid gold and enamel chatelaine, gold clip supporting three gold and enamel shield shaped cartouches. Two further gold and enamel chain join to the watch buckle and two shorter chains with broad gold and enamel rings. Hinged clasps secured by threaded collars.
Circa 1735£32,000.00 Add to cart -
Gold Repousse Pair Case by Manly
A mid 18th Century English verge in unusual gold repousse pair cases by Manly. Full plate fire gilt movement with signed and numbered gilt dust cover, square baluster pillars. Pierced and engraved cock with a chased and engraved bust at the foot of the table, diamond endstone. Pierced and engraved foot and plate for the silver regulator disc. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Plain three arm steel balance, blue steel spiral hairspring. Very fine dial enamelled on gold, Roman and Arabic numerals, fine blue steel beetle and poker hands. 22 carat gold pair cases with matching maker’s marks "IW" below a star. The inner case engraved to imitate a pierced repeating case, numbered below the long gold pendant fitted in the manner of a push repeating pendant. Fine 22 carat gold outer case signed "H Manly fec". Central chased and engraved repousse scene depicting the Presentation in the Temple within a repousse border. The edge of the back and bezel decoratively pierced.
Hallmarked London 1743£9,500.00 Add to cart -
Fine Gold Repousse Pair Case by Moser
A mid 18th Century English verge in very fine gold repousse pair cases by Moser. Full plate fire gilt movement with signed and numbered silver dust cover. Pierced and engraved masked cock with large diamond endstone in a polished steel setting, silver regulator disc. Fusee and chain, turned pillars. Plain three arm steel balance, blue steel spiral hairspring. Unusual white enamel dial with delicate Arabic numerals around a fine tracery border, gold beetle and poker hands. Gold inner case unusually also decorated with foliate engraving around the edge, a grotesque mark at the base and small scene around the pendant. In the centre a bird perched in reeds surrounded by a symmetrical border, maker's mark “EB” with fleur dis lis above. Superbly worked 22 carat outer case of chased and engraved repousse work signed “Moser f” at the feet of the figure. Symmetrical repousse border to the main scene which depicts a musician playing a lyre surrounded by animals, including a stag, boar, wolf, lamb, lion and leopard. Outside the border a frieze of small landscapes and buildings
A fine and important watch. It is an early example of Moser's work made in the same year as a case made for a repeating watch by Graham which Richard Edgcumbe lists as No. 4. The scene appears to be a visualisation of a passage from Isaiah chapter 11 which is thought to be the origin of the phrase “The lion and lamb shall lay down together”.“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.“
George Michael Moser was born in Schaffhausen on January 17, 1706. He studied chasing and gilding under his father Michael, a coppersmith. He moved to London in 1726 and worked for John Valentine Haidt, goldsmith and watch chaser. By 1737 he was working on his own account at Craven Buildings off Drury Lane. In addition to chasing he also produced fine enamel cases of which only about twenty are known to survive. He designed the great seal of George III and painted enamel portraits of the royal children for Queen Charlotte. Moser continued to work at least until the late 1770's, and was active for the Royal Academy until the end of his life. On January 30, 1783, the “Gentleman's Magazine” reported that Moser “was followed to his grave in grand funeral pomp by all the capital artists, Sir Joshua Reynolds at their head as chief mourner, Sir William Chambers, etc. Ten mourning coaches, besides two gentlemen's coaches, were in the procession”. In The Art of the Gold Chaser in Eighteenth-Century London, Richard Edgcumbe devotes over 40 pages of text to Moser's work in addition to the many illustrations included. Unlike most of Moser's work this case graces the movement from a lesser known watchmaker. Other examples house movements by eminent watchmakers of the period such as Graham, Delander, Mudge, Ellicott and Vulliamy. It is also most unusual for the inner case to be engraved on a timepiece. Casemaker either Edward Bradshaw or Edward Branstone Bayley.
Hallmarked London 1744£51,000.00 Add to cart -
Gold Repousse Sewing Etui
A mid 18th Century gold repousse sewing etui housing a pair of gold handled scissors, bodkins, razor, pencil and notepad. Finely chased and engraved repousse body of 22 carat gold depicting a number of figures and putti within rococo borders. The hinged lid similarly decorated and lined with red velvet.
Circa 1750£6,500.00 Add to cart -
Repeating Verge in Gold Repousse Case by Moser
A mid 18th Century English quarter repeating verge in fine gold repousse case by Moser. Full plate fire gilt movement with five turned baluster pillars, signed gilt dust cover. Silver pierced and engraved masked cock with diamond endstone, silver regulator disc. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Plain three arm gilt balance, blue steel spiral hairspring. Push pendant quarter repeating on a bell in the case. Unusual white enamel dial with blue Roman and Arabic numerals, blue steel beetle and poker hands. Fine 22 carat gold pair cases. The inner pierced and engraved around the edge and a further band closer to the centre, gold push pendant for the repeat. Fine gold outer case the bezel and edge of the back pierced chased and engraved. The central scene depicting Orpheus and Eurydice in chased and engraved repousse work, signed “Moser” below within the rococo border.
This case is illustrated in “The Art of the Gold Chaser in Eighteenth-Century London” by Richard Edgcumbe, figure 113, listed as Moser no. 47. The book devotes over 40 pages of text to Moser's work in addition to the many illustrations included. Other examples of Moser's work house movements by eminent watchmakers of the period such as Graham, Delander, Mudge, Ellicott and Vulliamy.George Michael Moser was born in Schaffhausen on January 17, 1706. He studied chasing and gilding under his father Michael, a coppersmith. He moved to London in 1726 and worked for John Valentine Haidt, goldsmith and watch chaser. By 1737 he was working on his own account at Craven Buildings off Drury Lane. In addition to chasing he also produced fine enamel cases of which only about twenty are known to survive. He designed the great seal of George III and painted enamel portraits of the royal children for Queen Charlotte. Moser continued to work at least until the late 1770's, and was active for the Royal Academy until the end of his life. On January 30, 1783, the “Gentleman's Magazine” reported that Moser “was followed to his grave in grand funeral pomp by all the capital artists, Sir Joshua Reynolds at their head as chief mourner, Sir William Chambers, etc. Ten mourning coaches, besides two gentlemen's coaches, were in the procession”
Circa 1760£55,000.00 Add to cart