97th Auction

2018/5/12

Lot 243

Blondel & Melly à Genève / Le Roy, Case No. 13675, 54 mm, 88 g, circa 1820
An important Geneva gold enamel pocket watch with a very early crown winding mechanism, four colour gold ornaments "à quatre couleurs" and corresponding watch chain - produced for the Ottoman market
Case: 18k gold, polychrome enamel, case maker's punch mark "FM". Dial: enamel. Movm.: "Lepine" caliber, cylinder escapement, three-arm brass balance.
The richly decorated case with arched rims is of extraordinary quality and size. The back is divided in 12 segments with alternating sections of polychrome flowers painted on enamel and chased four-colour gold ornamentation. The chased areas show musical instruments decorated with petals as well as religious symbols and objects. The front is decorated in the same style.
A similar watch with Le Roy's Turkish signature was part of the famous Lord Sandberg Collection and is described and illustration in Terence Camerer-Cuss' "The Sandberg Watch Collection". Another watch by Blondel & Melly with similar case decoration and set with pearls was auctioned at Christie’s in 2011 for more than 55,000 Swiss Francs.
The sultans of the Ottoman Empire discovered their passion for lavishly ornamented watches as early as in the 16th century but it was in the 18th century that the wealthy classes developed a real interest in European timepieces and their makers. Consequently the Swiss, French and English makers set out to conquer the Ottoman market and opened branches in Constantinople. With regard to local taste, the watches were fitted with Ottoman dials and elaborately decorated cases. The correspondence between the European makers and their retailers contains extensive lists of timepieces that were delivered to the Ottoman Empire. Some of these renowned manufacturers were Blondel & Melly, George Prior, Edward Prior, Markwick Markham and Breguet.
Le Roy or Leroy, whose signature is on the dial of this watch, was a famous maker from Paris, who went to Constantinople around 1810 to represent Abraham-Louis Breguet on the Ottoman market. He also imported watches from Swiss makers which were sold to the leading dignitaries of the time.
Swiss watch manufactory Blondel & Melly were based in Geneva in the early 19th century. A gold enamel watch is part of the collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A lady’s pocket watch is exhibited in the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon in Dresden.
Source: https://watch-wiki.org/index.php?title=Blondel_%26_Melly, as of 03/29/2018

estimated
20.00030.000 €
Price realized
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