Roman Bordier & Cie., No. 20935, (Geneva), almost certainly produced by Henry Capt, circa 1815. Very fine and rare 18K gold quarter repeating musical automaton watch. | Important Watches, Wristwatches and Clocks | Hong Kong, Hotel Furama Kempinski, 9th June 1997

Important Watches, Wristwatches and C...

Hong Kong, Hotel Furama Kempinski, Jun 09, 1997

LOT 412

Roman Bordier & Cie., No. 20935, (Geneva), almost certainly produced by Henry Capt, circa 1815. Very fine and rare 18K gold quarter repeating musical automaton watch.

HKD 217,000 - 248,000

USD 28,000 - 32,000

Sold: HKD 241,500

C. Three body, Empire with reeded band, the back finely chased with a pastoral scene depicting a young boy playing the flute for a shepherdess sitting in a landscape with lambs. D. Small gold eccentric with Breguet numerals on a polished chapter ring, the centre engraved with a rosette. Blued steel "spade " hand with gold tips. The enamelled dial plate painted with a landscape (slightly restored on the border) and applied on the foreground with a fine varicoloured gold automaton scene depicting a couple in classical dress playing the lyre while a seated lady weaves a crown of flowers. M. Gilt brass, Lepine calibre with going barrels, cylinder escapement, plain brass three - arm balance, fiat balance spring with regulator, diamond end-stone. Musical train with pin-drum and a stack of six teeth. A steel cam, screwed on the top of the pin-drum drives the movements of the three automata. Signed on the cuvette. In very good condition. Diam. 60 mm.

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Notes

This very fine watch illustrates the ultimate development of Henry Capt' s production. Full plate in its early production, the movement is now of Lepine's type, but still retains the pin-drum musical train, while most of the other Geneva makers were using the pin-disc or the pin-cylinder. The pin-drum musical train, as always used by Henry Capt, is illustrated in Ree's Cyclo,aedia, page 280, plate XLIII.