Chinese Market Gold and Enamel Captains Watch, 1820

Dealer description — WatchMuseum.org shop

The “Chinese Market Gold and Enamel Captain’s Watch - 1820” is an extraordinary example of early 19th-century Swiss craftsmanship, meticulously designed to cater to the sophisticated tastes of the Chinese market. This luxurious timepiece is encased in opulent gold and enamel, featuring a key-wound gilt bar movement with intricately engraved plates, bridges, and a suspended going barrel. It is adorned with a polished steel regulator, blue steel stop work and screws, and a polished steel three-arm balance with three blue steel affixes and a spiral hairspring. The watch’s crab tooth duplex escapement and steel escape wheel, with its two locking teeth, give the illusion of beating seconds, adding to its mechanical allure. The white enamel dial elegantly displays Roman numerals and includes subsidiaries for two time zones, also marked in Roman numerals, complemented by a blue steel seconds hand and gilt Breguet hands. The open-face case is a canvas of fine polychrome enamel, depicting a classically dressed couple and child, and is further embellished with a bezel adorned in translucent red, white, and blue champlevé enamel. A matching gold and enamel pendant and bow complete this exquisite piece. Estimated to have been crafted around 1820, this 58 mm diameter watch is a testament to the high level of artistic skill and finesse characteristic of Swiss watchmaking from that era, making it a coveted masterpiece for luxury watch collectors and enthusiasts alike. This is an exquisite early 19th-century Swiss duplex watch created for the Chinese market. It features a luxurious gold and enamel case and a key-wound gilt bar movement with intricately engraved plates, bridges, and a suspended going barrel. The watch also boasts a polished steel regulator, blue steel stop work and screws, and a polished steel three-arm balance with three blue steel affixes and spiral hairspring. A crab tooth duplex escapement is also included, and the steel escape wheel has two locking teeth so that the watch appears to beat seconds. The white enamel dial displays Roman numerals, with subsidiaries for two time zones, both of which also feature in Roman numerals. The watch comes with a blue steel seconds hand and gilt Breguet hands, while the gold and enamel open face case features a fine polychrome enamel scene of a classically dressed couple and child. The bezel of the timepiece is also adorned with translucent red, white and blue champleve enamel, and it comes with a complementing gold and enamel pendant and bow. The watch is an elegant creation designed specifically for the discerning Chinese market, with its painted enamel back displaying a high level of artistic skill and finesse. Overall, it is a true masterpiece of Swiss watchmaking from the early 19th century that is sure to captivate the hearts of all luxury watch collectors and enthusiasts. This elegant timepiece is estimated to have been made around 1820 and has a diameter of 58 mm. Anonymous Swiss Circa 1820 Diameter 58 mm Materials Gold Enamel Carat for Gold 18 K