Page 159 - A205-Flipbook

Pocket watch: extremely rare gold/enamel verge watch with case decoration by Guillaume Bouvier, Bellard a Mar- seille, ca. 1740\u000ACa. \u00D846mm, ca. 83g, 18K gold, white enamel with golden raised inlays, signed verge movement, silver balance bridge, signed enamel dial in very beautiful condition, probably ori- ginal hands, intact, enamel bezel with craquelling, repouss\u00E9 work on back partly rubbed. Cases by Guillaume Bouvier are unique high quality works of art, combining enamel cases with gold repouss\u00E9 inlays. They have already achie-\u000Aved extraordinarily high results at international auctions, e.g. an almost matching piece in Geneva 34,500 Swiss\u000AFrancs (https://www.cortrie.de/go/3Jd). Another piece was offered at Sotheby\u2018s with an estimate of 20,000-30,000 GBP (https://www.cortrie.de/go/085). Guillaume Bouvier is known to have lived in Paris around 1740 as a member of a family specialising in the enamelling of watch cases, which was active in both France and Switzerland. There are a small number of watch cases with his signature and at least one signed plaque (see Sotheby\u2018s London, 19 March 1973, lot 268). Normally this technique of applying gold to enamel is attributed to the Fromery workshops in Berlin, but the existence of numerous German enamel cases with French decorations suggests that there was also a flourishing production in Paris.\u000ACortrie Uhren- und Schmuckauktionen 157\u000A