Watch with the Adoration of the Shepherds — view 1 of 2 — View 1 of 2 · Image: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

View 1 of 2 · Image: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

Pocket Watches · Watch

Watch with the Adoration of the Shepherds

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.

Maker / attribution: Jan Marc Juntès (clockmaker); Paulus Bellanger (goldsmith)
Date: c. 1750 - c. 1775
Historical period: Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Country of origin: Unrecorded in source
Object type: Watch
Materials / technique: gold (metal), glass (material)
Dimensions: height 2.6 cm x diameter 4.5 cm x weight 94 g
Holding institution: Rijksmuseum
Accession / object no.: BK-1958-32
Credit line: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Catalogue title (original): Horloge met de aanbidding van de herders (English)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Rijksmuseum (object number BK-1958-32), this is a watch by Jan Marc Juntès, dated c. 1750 - c. 1775. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gold (metal), glass (material). Recorded dimensions: height 2.6 cm x diameter 4.5 cm x weight 94 g. The record is illustrated with 2 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

Description — Rijksmuseum (Dutch)

Gouden horloge in losse gedreven kast met op de achterzijde de aanbidding der herders, daarboven zwevende engelen, waarvan een in zeer hoog reliëf. Op de rand: GLOIRE SOIT À DIEU; AUX LIEUX TRÈS HAUTS ET EN TERRE PAIX; ENVER LES HOMMES BONNE VOLONTÉ. Het horloge is op de platine gemerkt: J M Juntes Amsterdam. In de kloof is een monogram verwerkt. Etui van haaienvel, versierd met verguld koperen spijkerkoppen.

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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

Description — Rijksmuseum (Dutch)

De horlogekast bestaat uit een losse binnenkast en een overkast. De bak van de ronde, bolle scharnierende overkast is in hoog reliëf gedreven met een voorstelling van de aanbidding der herders. Voor de centraal in het beeld geplaatste kribbe met het kind Jezus knielen vier herders, van wie er één een schaap vasthoudt. Achter de kribbe bevindt zich een staand gezelschap rond Maria, die een doek van de kribbe optilt waardoor Jezus zichtbaar wordt. In de lucht zweven engelen en cherubijnen. De scène wordt omgeven door een asymmetrische rand van C-voluten, waarin aan de linkerzijde een zuil is verwerkt, op een geponste grond. Boven de zuil bevindt zich de bolvormige drukker waarmee de kast geopend kan worden. De bak heeft een geprofileerde, uitstekende bovenrand waarin een halfronde opening voor de pendant is uitgespaard. Hierop sluit met zo'n zelfde rand de scharnierende sluitring met de rondlopende tekst: GLOIRE SOIT A DIEU / AUX LIEUX / TRÈS HAUTS & EN TERRE PAIX / ENVER LES HOMMES / BONNE VOLONTE, en die versierd is met bloemenranken en twee engelenkopjes, op een geponste grond. De ronde, bolle, gladde binnenkast heeft een scharnierende glasrand met lichtgewelfd horlogeglas. Aan de bovenzijde is de pendant met beugel bevestigd. Aan de achterzijde bevindt zich het cirkelvormig opwindgat.

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

alloy mark; date letter: ‘C’; duty mark: ‘V’; inscription: ‘GLOIRE SOIT A DIEU/AUX LIEUX/TRES HAUTS & EN TERRE PAIX/ENVERS LES HOMMES/BONNE VOLONTE’; maker's mark; signature: ‘J.M. Juntes // Amsterdam’; town mark

Historical context

Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)

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

From 1750 to 1850 the watch became a precision instrument. Mudge's lever escapement, the cylinder escapement, Lépine's thin bar calibre, Breguet's innovations (overcoil, tourbillon, perpétuelle) and the pocket chronometer of Arnold and Earnshaw all date from this period, while verge watches remained common in cheaper production.

Read the period in the timeline More pocket watches from this period Earlier: Early Modern 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.

Mechanisms mentioned

No escapement or complication is named in the source record. See the encyclopedia for how such pieces work.

Record completeness

Maker or attributionRecorded
DateRecorded
Place or countryNot in source
MaterialsRecorded
DimensionsRecorded
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksRecorded
ProvenanceNot in source
Several photographsRecorded

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

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Sources & image rights

Record source: Rijksmuseum (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: Public domain (Rijksmuseum) — data CC0 (opens another website in a new tab).

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal, or grant permission, via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"Watch with the Adoration of the Shepherds." Rijksmuseum, BK-1958-32. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/watch-with-the-adoration-of-the-shepherds-558765.