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Auction archive: Lot number 224

AN EXQUISITE PAIR OF ANTIQUE EMERALD AND PEARL WATCH AND CALENDAR BRACELETS

Auction 23.10.1996
23 Oct 1996 - 24 Oct 1996
Estimate
US$20,000 - US$30,000
Price realised:
US$51,750
Auction archive: Lot number 224

AN EXQUISITE PAIR OF ANTIQUE EMERALD AND PEARL WATCH AND CALENDAR BRACELETS

Auction 23.10.1996
23 Oct 1996 - 24 Oct 1996
Estimate
US$20,000 - US$30,000
Price realised:
US$51,750
Beschreibung:

AN EXQUISITE PAIR OF ANTIQUE EMERALD AND PEARL WATCH AND CALENDAR BRACELETS One centering upon an oval textured gold dial, the white enamel chapter ring with black enamel Arabic chapters and blued-steeled hands, the other centering upon a similar dial with month and date chapters, each within an alternating pearl and circular-cut emerald frame, attached to a square-cut emerald, pearl and textured gold fancy link band, mounted in gold, in a leather fitted case with a royal monogram, circa 1820 Sometimes a piece of jewelry comes along that is intriguing both aesthetically and historically. This pair of watch bracelets, one telling time and the other indicating day and month, is such an example. Stylistically, they can be dated to c. 1820 based upon a reproduction of bracelet designs by Seiffert, designer for Bapst, in Henri Vever La Bijouterie Francaise au XIX Siècle, Part 1, 1800-1850 , Paris, 1906, page 99. On both the designs and these bracelets, rectangular elements are rendered with faceted gemstones, with a fleur-de-lis motif repeated at top and bottom. The original box for this set is also fascinating with the letter "A" and a crown stamped in gold on the cover along with the number 33; the crown indicating that the original owner of this set was royalty. The only personage from the first quarter of the nineteenth century that could possibly fit this description is Queen Adelaide, the wife of William IV of England who ascended the throne in 1830. Surmounted on the crown are an orb with a cross within a square design, similar in conception to Queen Adelaide's crown illustrated in Lord Twining, European Regalia , London, 1967, plate 23d. The number 33 is most likely an inventory number, indicating that this pair was originally part of a large jewelry collection. In the first quarter of the nineteenth century, only a wealthy person or someone of noble origin would have had the resources to accumulate such a collection. Although no definite attribution to a particular royal figure can be made, this pair of bracelets with watch and day/month indicator is very important as an example of the period when two matching bracelets were often worn. (2)

Auction archive: Lot number 224
Auction:
Datum:
23 Oct 1996 - 24 Oct 1996
Auction house:
Christie's
New York, Park Avenue
Beschreibung:

AN EXQUISITE PAIR OF ANTIQUE EMERALD AND PEARL WATCH AND CALENDAR BRACELETS One centering upon an oval textured gold dial, the white enamel chapter ring with black enamel Arabic chapters and blued-steeled hands, the other centering upon a similar dial with month and date chapters, each within an alternating pearl and circular-cut emerald frame, attached to a square-cut emerald, pearl and textured gold fancy link band, mounted in gold, in a leather fitted case with a royal monogram, circa 1820 Sometimes a piece of jewelry comes along that is intriguing both aesthetically and historically. This pair of watch bracelets, one telling time and the other indicating day and month, is such an example. Stylistically, they can be dated to c. 1820 based upon a reproduction of bracelet designs by Seiffert, designer for Bapst, in Henri Vever La Bijouterie Francaise au XIX Siècle, Part 1, 1800-1850 , Paris, 1906, page 99. On both the designs and these bracelets, rectangular elements are rendered with faceted gemstones, with a fleur-de-lis motif repeated at top and bottom. The original box for this set is also fascinating with the letter "A" and a crown stamped in gold on the cover along with the number 33; the crown indicating that the original owner of this set was royalty. The only personage from the first quarter of the nineteenth century that could possibly fit this description is Queen Adelaide, the wife of William IV of England who ascended the throne in 1830. Surmounted on the crown are an orb with a cross within a square design, similar in conception to Queen Adelaide's crown illustrated in Lord Twining, European Regalia , London, 1967, plate 23d. The number 33 is most likely an inventory number, indicating that this pair was originally part of a large jewelry collection. In the first quarter of the nineteenth century, only a wealthy person or someone of noble origin would have had the resources to accumulate such a collection. Although no definite attribution to a particular royal figure can be made, this pair of bracelets with watch and day/month indicator is very important as an example of the period when two matching bracelets were often worn. (2)

Auction archive: Lot number 224
Auction:
Datum:
23 Oct 1996 - 24 Oct 1996
Auction house:
Christie's
New York, Park Avenue
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