Lot 94

Henry Capt à Genève, Case No. 25517, 35 x 50 mm, 42 g, circa 1840
A lady's very fine Geneva carnelian fob watch with matching gold chain, studded with pearls
Case: 18k gold, the back side with a cameo carved from carnelian. Dial: enamel. Movm.: bridge movement, cylinder escapement, three-arm brass balance.
The back of this lovely pendant watch is a cameo carved from carnelian and shows a little winged putto sitting on a cloud and playing the pipe; the background features a shell motif. Tiny half pearls decorate the rim and the fine gold work on the winding crown is ornamented with freshwater pearls; the upper part of the gold work forms a crown that is beset with large pearls. The corresponding two-part chain is studded with six pearls.
The house of Henry Capt was founded by the famed Henry-Daniel Capt (1773-1841) in Geneva in 1822 and flourished for many decades.
Henry Capt (1773 - 1841). Capt was an independent watchmaker who specialised in watches with additional functions such as musical watches and automatons; Capt was one of the first in Geneva to use barrels and crowns in his automatons. Born in Chenit in the Vallée de Joux in April 1773, he was the son of Jaques Samuel Capt and Susanne Piguet. On January 1, 1796, he married Henriette Piguet. Around 1789 Capt settled in Geneva and worked for several renowned companies such as Jaquet-Droz, Godet, Leschot and his brother-in-law Isaac Daniel Piguet. In 1802 he went into partnership with Daniel Isaac Piguet, which lasted until 1811. When this partnership ended, Capt kept producing his own pieces for some time before entering another partnership with Aubert et Fils in 1830. The firm was taken over by his son, Henry Capt, in 1844. A shop was opened on the Rue du Rhône in 1855 which became quickly famous. During the 1870s, the Henry Capt company advertised that they were the only Geneva watch manufacturer to have a branch retail house in London. Branches were also established in Paris, Nice and New York.

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