Pocket Watches · Watch
Watch by Peter Dutens, 1685–1760
- Maker / attribution
- Peter Dutens (Horloger); Amy Huaud (maker); Jean-Pierre Huaud (maker)
- Date
- 1685–1700 (case); 1740–1760 (movement)
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Watch
- Materials / technique
- gold, rock crystal, diamond, brass
- Dimensions
- height 6,2 cm; diameter 4,9 cm; thickness 2,8 cm
- Holding institution
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Accession / object no.
- OA 7756
- Credit line
- Musée du Louvre, Département des Objets d'art du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes
- Catalogue title (original)
- Montre ronde (French)
View the source record ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Musée du Louvre, Paris (object number OA 7756), this is a watch by Peter Dutens, made in Switzerland, dated 1685–1700 (case); 1740–1760 (movement). The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gold, rock crystal, diamond, brass. Recorded dimensions: height 6,2 cm; diameter 4,9 cm; thickness 2,8 cm. The record is illustrated with 6 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 — Musée du Louvre (French)
Montre ronde, fond émaillé d'une scène représentant Vénus enlacant Mars, contre-émail peint d'un paysage où se dresse une tour animée d'un promeneur. Sur la carrure, quatre médaillons contenant des paysages séparés par des rubans dorés sur fond bleu. Tête du pendant gravée d'une rosace. Cadran à chiffres romains et arabes, aiguilles repercées ornées de roses de diamant. Mouvement muni d'un échappement à roue de rencontre, d'un balancier à ressort-spiral-réglant, d'une fusée à chaîne. Coq à un pied orné d'un mascaron sur son talon, ajouré et gravé de rinceaux. Rosette de réglage en argent.
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.
Dating and period as catalogued (French)
Epoque / période : Louis XIV (1643-1715) (Occident->époque moderne = Ancien Régime->dynastie des Bourbons) ; Louis XV (1715-1774) (Occident->époque moderne = Ancien Régime->dynastie des Bourbons) · · Date de création/fabrication : 1685 - 1700 (boîtier) et 1740 - 1760 (mouvement)
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.
Materials and techniques as catalogued (French)
Matériau : or · Technique : émaillé = émaillage = émail = émaux (techniques métal) · Matériau : cristal de roche · Matériau : diamant · Matériau : laiton
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.
Inscriptions & marks
Signature : ; mouvement signé sur la carrure : Per Dutens 743/LONDON ; boîte signée sur la carrure, dans un cartouche : Les deux frères/Huaut peintre/de son A.E. de B a berlin
Provenance
Exposition universelle, Paris, 1900, n° 2403 ; collection Edouard Corroyer (1835-1904) ; donation sous réserve d'usufruit par sa femme Pauline Corroyer et sa fille Marie-Adèle Corroyer en 1905 ; décret d’acceptation du 29 mars 1906 ; entrée au musée en 1923, conseil du 7 mai 1923.
Historical context
Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
Huygens' pendulum and balance spring transform accuracy; English makers develop the anchor and deadbeat escapements.
The balance spring (c. 1675) improved watches dramatically and introduced the minute hand. English pair-cased verge watches with pierced balance cocks and French oignons were typical; enamel painting at Blois and Geneva, and the repeating watch (1680s), made watches objects of great refinement.
Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Renaissance Horology
Atlas type guide
Pocket watches
The pocket watch was the dominant personal timekeeper from the late seventeenth century until the First World War. Its development tracks the history of the escapement: verge watches with fusees until the late eighteenth century; Thomas Mudge's lever escapement (c. 1755) and the cylinder escapement popularised by George Graham and later by Swiss makers; and the Swiss and English lever watches of the nineteenth century. Lépine's bar-bridge calibre and keyless winding made watches thinner and easier to use.
Industrialisation transformed the trade: American factories such as Waltham (from 1850) and Elgin produced interchangeable parts by machine, and Swiss makers responded with their own mechanisation after the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition. By 1900 a reliable watch was affordable to millions; the finest makers continued to produce complications and precision watches.
What to look for
- The escapement: verge (crown wheel), cylinder, duplex, English or Swiss lever.
- Key winding (a square arbor in dial or back) or keyless crown winding.
- Signatures and serial numbers on the movement, dial and inside case back.
- Hallmarks, case maker's marks and gold or silver standards stamped in the case.
- Dial material: enamel, silver, gold, later printed metal.
Dating clues
- Verge watches dominate before c. 1800; cylinder watches c. 1770–1900; lever watches after c. 1820.
- Keyless winding: increasingly common after c. 1860.
- Manufacturer serial number lists exist for Waltham, Elgin, Longines, Omega, Patek Philippe and others.
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:Verge escapementDetached lever escapementIdentification Centre
Related records
Clocks · 1736
Royal mantel clock with gilt-brass case with enamel dial centred with sun in gold the movement signed on the back 'Clay'.
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Pocket Watches · 1740–1760
Watch by Peter Dutens, England, 1740–1760
Musée du Louvre, Paris
Pocket Watches · 1630
Pocket watch by A. Senebier, Switzerland, 1630
Science Museum Group, London
Pocket Watches · 1635-50
Silver, gilt brass and rock crystal watch in the form of a tulip, movement signed 'Senebier', Geneva, Switzerland, 1635-50
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Pocket Watches · 1640-50
Gilt brass and crystal watch with an engraved silver dial, movement signed 'Charles Bobinet', Switzerland (Geneva), 1640-50
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Pocket Watches · c. 1650
Watch by Denis Bordier, Switzerland, c. 1650
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Pocket Watches · c. 1650–60
Watch probably by Jean Rousseau the Younger, Switzerland, c. 1650–60
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Pocket Watches · c. 1660–80
Watch by Pierre Duhamel, Switzerland, c. 1660–80
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York