4,830 CHF
J. F. Bautte & Cie. à Genève, No. 66650, circa 1840.Fine 18K gold and enamel, miniature watch. Four body with ribbed band and polished bezel, the back engine-turned in a vermicelli pattern and centred with a small powder blue champlevé flinqué enamelled rosette. Hinged gold cuvette. Frosted silver with Roman numerals. Blued steel Breguet hands. Notes Bautte & Cie.Jean-François Bautte was born on March 26, 1772, in a family of simple labourers and was orphaned at an early age. He was apprenticed at twelve, successively learning the crafts of case maker, engine-turner, watchmaker, jeweller and gem-setter. He was barely nineteen years old when he put his name on his first watch. Two years later, in 1797, Bautte took as partner the case maker Moulinié and the firm Moulinié & Bautte in 1804 was joined by the watchmaker Jean Gabriel Moynier, the name of the copany then became: Moulinié, Bautte & Cie. before being renamed Moulinié, Bautte & Moynier.By that time, Bautte was the most important dealer of Geneva. Ruskin in Praerita (The Works of Ruskin, Vol. 35, Praerita, p. 325) reports with humour this story, about the celebrated dealer:A visit to Bautte's was made with trepidation, as if one was going to see one's banker. Hardly an indication on the building; a simple brass plate at the side of the narrow, vaulted entrance. The alley gave onto a courtyard resembling a cloister, and a large open staircase, wide enough for two people, led you to the green gate. There you paused
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
1999-11-13
