This rare timepiece, proposed by the collector Dr. Helmut Crott, embodies the quintessence of the watch’s complications, the good taste of Empress Eugenie and the top level of Geneva’s early 19th-century craftsmanship.
Auction in Geneva on May 11th 2024.
Joël A. Grandjean, JSH Magazine & Swiss-Watch-Passport.ch’ editor in chief
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Called “Breathing life into Machines“, this “automaton Moses” pocket timepiece is inhabited by one of the most complex automaton mechanisms ever produced for a timepiece of this size. It is credited to watchmaker Charles Ducommun.
This watch reenacts a biblical scene in which a mechanical Moses striking a rock with his staff, releasing a rush of water, simulated by two twisting glass rods. The thirsty figures around him reach out to catch the water. In the smaller oval frame, two cherubs strike the hours and quarters. (text of the Patek Philippe Museum catalog volume 1 S.64 Ins. S-195 2022).
Estimated at CHF 220,000 to CHF 420,000 Antiquorum Auctions, 11 May 2024, Lot 388 2nd session from 10H00
Extremely rare, only 5 known
Attributed to the Neuchâtel master clockmaker Charles Ducommun dit Boudry, who lived in Geneva and then Madrid, this piece, acquired by Dr. Crott at Sotheby’s in May 1995, is, according to research one of only five known “Moses” automaton watches that have managed to survive. Each has slight variations in shape, size, finish and enamelling. The other four “Moses” masterpieces can be found in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva (with a model sold at Antiquorum in October 1992, lot 499), in the Maurice Sandoz Collection, in the Beyer Museum in Zurich and in an important private collection.
Present to Marshal Lintorn Simmons from Empress Eugénie of France, wife of Napoleon III.
Small eccentric white enamel dial, Arabic numerals, applied varicolored gold automaton scene, in the background polychrome enameled scene depicting the people of Israel beneath the eye of God.
The exceptional quality of the painted enamel background portraying the Children of Israel beneath the Eye of God exemplifies the renowned artistry of enamel miniatures that originated from Geneva in the early 19th century.
The ultra-complex automaton mechanism with the same high grade mirror polished finish with the chain and the rack and the multi disc to guide the Moses automaton as well as the two rock crystal rods for the waterfall.
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Present to Marshal Lintorn Simmons from Empress Eugénie of France, wife of Napoleon III.
Small eccentric white enamel dial, Arabic numerals, applied varicolored gold automaton scene, in the background polychrome enameled scene depicting the people of Israel beneath the eye of God.
The exceptional quality of the painted enamel background portraying the Children of Israel beneath the Eye of God exemplifies the renowned artistry of enamel miniatures that originated from Geneva in the early 19th century.
The ultra-complex automaton mechanism with the same high grade mirror polished finish with the chain and the rack and the multi disc to guide the Moses automaton as well as the two rock crystal rods for the waterfall.
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