Pendant jewel-watch, unsigned, circa 1660-1670 Original... Lot 59

Pendant jewel-watch, unsigned, circa 1660-1670 Original gilt silver mounting, set with two garnets, rubies and diamonds. Total length 53mm; D. 27mm. Gilt dial, with engraved Roman numerals in slight relief, divided every 15 minutes, marked by diamond-shaped dots for the half hours, slightly asymmetrical foliate decoration outside the hour ring, the centre matt with two circles of dots, one with 24 elements where diamonds and circles alternate, the latter possibly originally set with tiny stones, the centre circle with 12 flat elements, a single turned steel hand. Gilt brass oval movement, the back plate applied with a vermeil plate engraved with foliage, openworked and engraved short-footed cock, verge escapement, fusee with gut string, balance wheel without spiral, turned baluster pillars. Case in silver (?) originally gilded, the cover set with an almandine garnet framed by twelve rubies (1 missing), the bottom of the case formed by a garnet, pusher for the opening of the case set with a diamond as well as the pendant. Watches with cases incorporating large precious or semi-precious stones are very rare. As parallels to the one presented here we can cite only two: one in the shape of a shell made by Wilhelm Peffenhauser, Augsburg around 1640, formerly in the collection of Henry Marryat, and the other, oval, made by Daniel Gom (fl. c. 1629 - post 1670), Lyon (sold by Christie's in London in February 1977). The finely engraved vermeil dial is stylistically quite early, but a similar one is found on a watch by P. Lagisse, Geneva (Christie's Geneva sale, 18 May 2021 lot 496), from the same period. This dating is supported by the clear similarity between the engraving of the foliage on the back plate and the drawings of foliage included by Louis Roupert in a book engraved and edited for him by Louis Cossin in 1668.