AN EXTREMELY RARE BOVET GUILLOCHÉ ENAMEL AND PEARL OPEN FACE POCKET WATCH
Made for the Chinese export market

Brand: Bovet
Year: Circa 1830's
Movement: Finely chased and engraved with flowers and foliate patterns, English lever escapement, duplex escapement with floral engravings, standing barrel, three-arm steel compensated balance with a diamond stone, engraved cuvette with floral design and stars, Number 804
Dial: White enamel, black Roman numerals, black outer minute division with black Arabic numerals for fifteen minutes divisions, gilt hands, blued central second hand
Material: Gold metal, enamel with floral motifs and pearls setting
Dimension: 57mm
Accessories: Box, key with enamel

Polychrome-enamelled metal has a rich history spanning over three thousand years, which involves diverse techniques applied to a wide range of objects. Early methods like champlevé and cloisonné were widely practiced, while the 17th and 18th centuries saw the emergence of basse-taille and painted enamel. In “Enamels of the World 1700–2000”, Haydn Williams discusses how shifting fashions influenced popular techniques. However, material availability and colour selection were crucial, often guiding an enameller’s choices as much as trends did, shaping each unique design.

During the Renaissance, the rise of transparent enamelling led craftsmen to carefully prepare the visible base metal surface, treating it as a 'blank canvas'. By engraving patterns and motifs into the metal, artisans added decorative depth and ensured better enamel adhesion. This approach was especially popular on curved and irregular surfaces like snuff boxes and pocket watches, allowing light to interact with the engraved metal and create striking visual effects. The interplay of enamel pigments with the base metal tones added richness and dimension to these intricate designs.

This enamelled Bovet pocket watch from the 1830s represents an important era in Swiss watchmaking, especially in the trade with the Far East. The Bovet family, particularly Edouard Bovet, played a pioneering role in making Swiss pocket watches desirable and available to the Chinese market. Edouard recognised the demand for luxury watches in the Far East and began designing watches adorned with intricate enamelled décors and precious materials aimed at wealthy Asian clients. These watches were praised for their finely decorated movements, often featuring duplex escapements and detailed enamel case designs, turning them into symbols of opulence and craftsmanship.

Bovet’s watches often included unique decorative elements, like floral triumphs and landscape scenes, catered to Chinese taste. The success of these export creations transformed the Bovet brand and the town of Fleurier, in Switzerland, into recognisable icons of watchmaking excellence.