59,000 HKD
Gold and Jasper “Viscountess” Mellerio dit Meller, Rue de la Paix, Paris. Made circa 1860. Very fine and rare, 18K gold and bloodstone jasper lady’s pendant watch with 18K gold and bloodstone en suite jasper chatelaine and the original morocco fitted case, the watch, chatelaine and case with a Viscountess’s coronet. Four-body, polished bezel, coin-edge band, the spring-loaded back cover set with a bloodstone panel with an applied gold coronet, chatelaine en suite set with bloodstone panels and beads, the upper panel set with a gold monogram “GC” and surmounted by a Viscountess’s coronet, with a key and seal. Hinged gold cuvette. White enamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minute divisions. Gold “Breguet” hands. 10 1/2’’’, frosted gilt, bar caliber, cylinder escapement, three-arm balance, flat balance spring, index regulator. Cuvette signed. Diam. 28 mm. Notes Mellerio, dit Meller, is the world’s oldest jewelry company. In the 16th century the Melerios became jewellers to Maria de Medici. In 1613, they were given exceptional privileges by the Queen for thwarting an attempt to assassinate the young King Louis XIII. These privileges were renewed by successive Kings & Queens of France until the revolution of 1789. Thanks to their illustrious past, Mellerio became the most famous French jeweler in the 19th century, supplying Empresses Josephine and Eugenie as well as all European royal courts.
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2003-11-25
