A10921

Gold and Enamel Repeater with Chatelaine

£32,000.00

Signed   Thos Grignion  - Covent Garden London
Circa   1765
Diameter   49 mm         

1 in stock

Description

A mid 18th Century English half quarter repeating cylinder in gold and enamel pair cases and matching chatelaine.  Full plate fire gilt movement with signed and numbered silver dust cover.  Pierced and engraved masked cock, diamond endstone in a polished steel setting.  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. Polished steel cylinder, large escape wheel which appears to be gold.  Push pendant half quarter repeating on bell in the case.  White enamel dial with Roman numerals, gilt hands.  22 carat gold inner case, pierce and engraved sides, representation of a dove engraved in the centre.  Gold push pendant with unusual horseshoe shaped bow.  The movement released from the case by depressing a sprung steel button at six o’clock.  Number of the watch engraved below the pendant, maker’s mark “HT” under the bell.   Fine 22 carat gold and enamel outer case.  The front bezel decorated in a geometric pattern of white and green champleve enamel repeated around the back.  Central enamel oval cartouche of a classical urn draped with flowers on a pink ground.  Surrounding the cartouche a tied ribbon and floral decoration of translucent green champleve enamel.   Fine matching chatelaine, the gilt clip faced with gold decorated in enamel repeating the design on the case.  Hanging from the clip are three matching gold faced cartouches joined by gold rings and small enamelled cartouches.  The watch secured to the lowest cartouche by a hinge and swivel sprung gold clip with threaded safety collar.  Four further chains of gold rings and small gold and enamelled cartouches also hang from the clip each terminating in a gold spring clip with threaded safety collar.  Recent maroon morocco covered fitted display box.  Lined in grey velvet, the chatelaine visible through the glazed lid, easel stand.

An attractive English chatelaine watch.  See the "The English Watch" by Terrence Camerer Cuss, page 245 for a similar watch with chatelaine by Thomas Grignion only four numbers earlier.  The chatelaine is almost identical in shape but the enamel decoration different. It also has the same unusual shaped bow and casemaker's mark. Thomas Grignion, 1713 - 1784, son of Daniel Grignion who he worked with in partnership at times.  They made many fine watches, often with decorative cases.  Thomas made improvements to the cylinder escapement invented by Graham.