Sermand

Sermand, Geneva, circa 1640. Exceptional, gold, enamel and faceted rock crystal form watch designed as a cross. Two-body, rock crystal front and back covers mounted in gold bezels with black champlevé enamel, decorated with gold scrolling pattern and white enamel spots, small enamelled finial, tulip-shaped enamelled pendant. Gold, cross-shaped, hinged, with radial Roman hour chapters in the centre with half-hour dots, the arms decorated with stylised flowers in translucent red enamel for petals and translucent green for leaves over flinqué engraving. Blued-steel hand. Cross-shaped, 24 x 34 mm, gilt brass full plate, fusee and gut-line, short four-wheel train with five-leaf pinions, verge escapement, steel two-arm circular foliot, elongated cock pierced and engraved with flowers secured by a screw, ratchet wheeand click mainspring set-up.Signed on the movement.Dim. 55 x 29 mm. Published in the Sandberg book, pages 372-373. Notes The dial is reminiscent of an earlier period, and its decoration follows patterns presented in the 'Livre contenant passements de moresques' by Jacques Androuet du Cerceau, published in France in the 16th century. Compare with lot No. 151. A watch of his in an oval case with rock crystals on both sides is in the Louvre Museum, inv. OA 7035.Provenance: previously in the collection of The King of Naples.Jaques Sermand oncle (1595-1651)Son of Henry. Master watchmaker. Made agate and rock crystal form watches designed as a cross, a star, a tulip, or