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Pocket watch by Moulinié Frères & Cie, Switzerland, 1840 — view 1 of 3
View 1 of 3 · Image: Kulturstiftung Sachsen-Anhalt; photo: Roy Tempel, Naumburg · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

Movements & Components · Pocket watch

Pocket watch by Moulinié Frères & Cie, Switzerland, 1840

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Moulinié Frères & Cie (Created)
Date
1840
Country of origin
Switzerland
Place
Geneva
Object type
Pocket watch
Materials / technique
18 Karat Gelbgold, ziseliert; Emaille; Emaille-Grubenschmelztechnik; Glas; Metall, feuervergoldet; gebläuter Stahl
Dimensions
Durchmesser (mit Bügel): 5 cm; Gewicht: 35,13 g
Accession / object no.
MSN-V 11592 H
Credit line
Kulturstiftung Sachsen-Anhalt - Museum Schloss Neuenburg
Catalogue title (original)
Goldemaille-Taschenuhr (German)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Kulturstiftung Sachsen-Anhalt - Museum Schloss Neuenburg (object number MSN-V 11592 H), this is a pocket watch by Moulinié Frères & Cie, made in Geneva, Switzerland, dated 1840. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Movements & Components collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: 18 Karat Gelbgold, ziseliert; Emaille; Emaille-Grubenschmelztechnik; Glas; Metall, feuervergoldet; gebläuter Stahl. Recorded dimensions: Durchmesser (mit Bügel): 5 cm; Gewicht: 35,13 g. The record is illustrated with 3 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Catalogue description from Kulturstiftung Sachsen-Anhalt - Museum Schloss Neuenburg (German)

Die Goldemaille-Taschenuhr wurde um 1840 von der Schweizer Uhrenmanufaktur Moulinie in Genf hergestellt. Die Uhr besteht aus 18 Karat Gelbgold. Das Gehäuse ist in einer flachen Genfer Form gehalten. Die Gehäuseränder sind mit floralen Ornamentbändern verziert. Auf der Rückseite ist eine Miniaturmalerei in Emailletechnik zu sehen. Miniaturmalereien waren bei Uhren vor allem vom 16. bis ins 19. Jahrhundert beliebt. Das Motiv zeigt den Genfersee mit zwei Segelbooten von einer Aussichtsplattform von Montreux aus gesehen. Links am Ufer befindet sich das mittelalterliche Schloss Chillon. Im Hintergrund erhebt sich die imposante Gebirgskulisse der Chablais-Alpen. Das Motiv wird von floralen Ornamenten in Gold und Türkis, die in der sogenannten Emaille-Grubenschmelztechnik ausgeführt sind, umrahmt. Die Krone der Taschenuhr ist ebenfalls ornamentiert, der runde Bügel jedoch schlicht gehalten. Das Ziffernblatt besteht aus massivem Gold mit einer ornamental feinen Ziselierung, schwarz eingelegten römischen Zahlen und gebläuten Breguetzeigern. Das Uhrwerk wurde mit einem feuervergoldeten Brückenwerk mit gebläuten Schrauben, einer Zylinderhemmung und einer Ringunruh ausgestattet.

Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

Historical context

Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)

Harrison solves longitude; Mudge invents the lever; Breguet's Paris workshop defines the modern watch.

The age of escapement invention: cylinder, duplex, lever, detent and many experimental escapements; compensation balances and fine finishing.

Read the period in the timelineMore movements & components from this periodEarlier: Early Modern Horology

Atlas type guide

Clock and watch movements

The movement is the mechanism of a clock or watch, without its case and dial. It consists of the power source (weight or mainspring in its barrel, sometimes with a fusee), the going train of wheels and pinions, the escapement and oscillator, the motion work that drives the hands, and in many cases additional trains for striking or complications.

From the eighteenth century watch movements were increasingly produced in stages: Swiss and French ébauche makers supplied rough movements that finishers, repasseurs and retailers completed and signed. Calibre numbers — first used systematically by American and Swiss factories in the nineteenth century — make it possible to identify movements, find spare parts and date watches.

What to look for

  • Plate and bridge layout: full plate, three-quarter plate, Lépine bar calibre, bridges and cocks.
  • Jewel count and whether jewels are set in chatons or rubbed in.
  • Signatures, calibre and serial numbers on the plate or under the dial.
  • Finishing: Geneva stripes (Côtes de Genève), perlage, bevelled edges, blued screws.
  • Fusee and chain, going barrel, or electrical components.

Dating clues

  • Full-plate English movements dominate before c. 1850; three-quarter plate and Lépine calibres after.
  • Jewelled movements spread after Facio and Debaufre's patent of 1704, mainly in English work until c. 1800.
  • Calibre numbers and factory serials allow close dating for industrial production after c. 1850.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

Read next:FuseeDetached lever escapementVerge escapement

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