WATCH COLLECTING GUIDE
PART TWO OF FOUR
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About
the turn of the century case styles altered dramatically. The drum
shape favoured by the Germans gave way to the oval, round, square and
more exotic form cases such as stars, crosses, shells, flowers and
birds. Casemaking had now become the task of the lapidist, enameller
and a little later the gold and silversmiths. Apart from the
cloisonne and champleve work already seen on dials and cases, there
now appeared other forms of enamelwork. Beautiful examples can be
seen with scenes painted in enamel. It is generally acknowledged that
the fine enamel work of this period was never surpassed.
This
type of enamel painting, in which pictures are painted in colours
using metallic oxides on a white background enamel, seems to have
been originated by Jean Toutin (1578-1644) of Chateaudun in France.
It is not
known how or when enamel painting began in Geneva. Jean Petitot
(1607-91) acquired a wide reputation there (even as discoverer of the
method) but this may have been due more to his renown as a miniature
enamel painter. While the origins of the industry in Geneva are
obscure, it was the Huaud family who raised Geneva to the level of
Blois. Pierre Huaud (b. 1612) painted his first watches around
mid-century and passed the craft on to his three sons. A
characteristic of Huaud watches is enamelling on the dial as well as
on the bottom of the case.
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The
relatively fragile enamelled cases necessitated some form of
protection. Originally made of stiffened leather, by mid-century
these outer cases were of metal covered with leather, shagreen,
tortoiseshell and often decorated with pique work. Perversely the
inner case became plainer with the outer case receiving more
attention. Although there continued to be made some highly decorative
cases, towards the middle of the century there was introduced in
England a simple watch with both outer
and inner silver cases completely devoid of any form of
embellishment. This innovation is generally attributed to
firstly the Puritan influence and then to the introduction of the
pocketed waistcoat.
WATCH COLLECTING GUIDE
The lead
in the field of watchmaking had initially been held by the German
makers, but at a time when watches were regarded not as serious
timekeepers but merely beautiful baubles, the French with their
natural flair for artistic work rapidly overtook and passed them. The
English makers, although somewhat tardy in the 16th century, were to
dominate in the 17th with what in modern parlance would be described
as a technical breakthrough.
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Geneva
was the centre for specialists in rock crystal cases for almost a
century. A particularly good example of such a watch, now in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, was made by Jean Rousseau
(1606-84), grandfather of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The bottom as well
as the cover over the dial are in rock crystal carved into 12 foils
converging on a central hollow. The frame is in gilt metal and
the hand in the form of a flower.
WATCH COLLECTING GUIDE
A
variation on the design of rock crystal watches which also originated
in Geneva were the so-called 'abbess watches' made in the form of a
cross with the dial decorated with scenes from the life of Christ.
Two examples of these watches, one by Jean Rousseau and the other by
David Rousseau, are in the British Museum. The former watch employs a
fusee with a catgut line, while the other uses a chain instead. Rock
crystal watch cases were also made in the shape of flowers,
particularly the tulip.
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I have one like this I would like to cell
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