25,300 CHF
Guardian of the SpheresGübelin, Swiss, sold in October 1952. Very fine and extremely rare 18K gold and cloisonné enamel keyless center seconds self-winding dress watch. Three-body, "bassine", massive, back decorated in cloisonné enamel with the Earth, its celestial projections and Zodiac signs, translucent dark blue enamel frame with sunburst gold motif, polished band and front bezel. Cloisonné enamel with dark red Saturn, the "guardian of the Spheres" and ruler of the sun sign Capricorn, in a circle of fire representing the Sun, orbiting moon and blue stars, applied gold radial Roman numerals and bâton indexes. Gold "Alpha pleines" hands. Notes The watch is the only self-winding pocket watch made by Gübelin. It was made in very few examples.The decoration of the watch symbolizes Strength and Fate. The zodiacal projections of the Earth shown on the back represent Fate and links to Time. The dial, representing Saturn, its moons and rings, here represented by the ring of fire, symbolizes strong powers of protection.The rings of Saturn have fascinated astronomers ever since they were discovered by Galileo in 1610. The rings show a tremendous amount of structure on all scales; some of this is due to gravitational disturbances by Saturn's many moons, but much of it remains unexplained, which adds to the planet's mystery and astrological importance. According to astrology, Saturn is the planet of responsibility, hard work and discipline.We are indebted to Monsieur Fran
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2002-11-16
