Quarter-repeating Watch
Artist
Charles Girardier L'Aine
(Swiss, 1780 - 1805)
Date1810-1815
MediumGold, enamel, steel
Dimensions79.4 x 54 x 19.1 mm
ClassificationsT&E FOR TIMEKEEPING
Credit LineProctor Collection, Frederick T. Proctor Watch Collection
Terms
Object numberPC. 145
Description18K gold/hinged back and bezel, detacheable gilt cuvette, piston pendant w/lock on bandCASE: Engine turned, radiating from vacant shield at 6
On View
Not on viewCollections
Copyright<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.
Label TextThis watch is a typical Swiss quarter-repeater, meaning that, when manually set, it sounds the time every quarter hour by means of a bell. On the dial, the Roman chapters on white enamel reserves are interspersed with chased naturalistic images of flowers, butterflies, and birds, characteristic motifs on both watches and jewelry in the early part of the nineteenth century. The center of the dial is embossed in a pattern resembling engine-turned, basket-weave design radiating from a shield enclosed within a circle.
