DESCRIPTION:
EPW - Charles Oudin, 51 & 52 Palais-Royal, Paris, minute repeater with chronograph and 30-minute register in extraordinary cloisonné case, 51mm, heavy 18K gold OF original case with cloisonné enamel rear featuring an ornate royal crown at center surrounded by ornate polychrome decorative detail, bezel also with cloisonné polychrome enamel detail, band and pendant with ornate deep engraving detail, magnificent ornate bow and crown, signed gold cuvette, white enamel DS dial, SW-pin-set, fully capped lever escapement with counterpoise, likely 38J or greater, balance with white metal (likely palladium) hairspring, fausses-côtes pattern nickel damascene, s#31923. Gross weight of assembled watch 78.5 dwt (122.1 g). An exquisitely beautiful piece that is truly a work of art. The ornate crown image to its case rear suggests the very high likelihood that this masterpiece was unique and bespoke for a member of royalty, and this watch unquestionably ranks as one of the most visually spectacular that our gallery has had the pleasure of handling.
CONDITION:
Mvt: Running, good repeat function and tone, good chronograph and minute register function, nearly mint cosmetic mvt condition overall, bright lustrous plates with few micro-fine scratches, one hammer with oxide to its visible portion, remainder of mvt steelwork with only few very small bits of oxide; virtually flawless dial with only a minuscule edge scratch under bezel at 12 which appears to be an as-made indexing mark for alignment to dial canister ring; excellent hands; case shows hardly any wear, no dents or dings, superb engraving detail, rear enamel with two chipped areas at lower perimeter adjacent hinge and with some associated flaking of adjacent areas, cloisonné wire detail remains fully present in these chipped areas and the cosmetic appearance would benefit greatly from a professional quality fill with color match of lost material, enameling otherwise fully intact with some typical fine scratches to surface, inner surface of cuvette with scribed "Q - 70 yrs" marking, case rear opens a small bit short of 90 degrees (to approximately 80 degrees); tight bow, crown shows hardly any wear; good glass crystal.
ESTIMATE:
$10000
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$20000
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