Sandoz, Le Locle, Case No. 82335, 53 mm, 131 g, circa 1895

A gentleman's very fine and rare gold enamel minute repeating pocket watch with chronograph studded with half pearls made for the Chinese market - with original box
Case: 18k gold, engine-turned and translucent red enamelled back lid decorated with an opaque polychrome enamelled scene of a young lady holding a fan sitting in field of flowers, half pearl studded bezels, case band decorated with translucent red enamelled lozenges and foliage. Dial: enamel. Movm.: bridge movement, frosted, gilt, 2 hammers / 2 gongs, governor for repetition, "Swiss Patent 334", screw compensation balance.

This is one of the relatively rare enamel watches with complications for the Chinese market. There have been several companies with the name "Sandoz" in Le Locle; the one in question was most likely case maker Frédéric Henri Sandoz (1851-1913), son of a watchmaker, who founded his company in 1870. The enamelling and particularly the painting must have been carried out by one of the outstanding enamel painters in Geneva at the time, who, in contrast to their colleagues in earlier centuries, remained anonymous.

During our 91st auction our lot no. 653 was a nearly identical gentleman’s gold enamel pocket watch of the same weight and size as this timepiece; the minute repeater was decorated with half pearls and its back showed a young lady playing the flute in a field of flowers. Lot no. 653 sold for a price of 34,000 euros.