9,200 HKD
J. (ean) F.(rançois) Bautte & Cie. à Genève, No. 67878, circa 1840. Very fine and extremely rare, extra-thin,18K gold and enamel, lady’s miniature watch with fitted tortoiseshell box. Four-body with ribbed band and polished bezel, the back chased with flowers and foliage, dark blue enamel groundand opalescent enamel flowers. Hinged gold cuvette. White enamel with radial Roman numerals, outer minute markers. Gold Breguethands. Notes Bautte & Cie. JJean-François Bautte was born on March 26, 1772. He was apprenticed at twelve, successively learning the crafts of case maker, engineturner, 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 company first becoming Moulinié, Bautte & Cie., then being renamed Moulinié, Bautte & Moynier. By this time, Bautte was the most important dealer in Geneva.
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2005-07-10
