ILBERY LONDON

ILBERY LONDON, SWITZERLAND, THE PEAR, A PEAR-SHAPED, PEARL-SET AND ENAMELLED POCKET WATCH WITH CENTRE SECONDS AND DUPLEX ESCAPEMENT MADE FOR THE CHINESE MARKET, GOLD AND ENAMEL An extremely fine and rare, 18k gold, painted on enamel and pearl-set, manual wind pear-shaped pocket watch with centre seconds and duplex escapement. Pear-shaped case, the bezel set with split pearls, the band, stem and bow decorated with pale green, blue, white and red champlevé enamel. Hinged and sprung, scallop-edged back cover set with a finely painted panel depicting summer flowers and fruit, within a gold and enamel wavy-line border. Hinged and sprung gold cuvette overlaid with translucent guilloché scarlet enamel, within a gold, white and pale green enamelled scalloped border. White enamel dial with radial Roman numerals, outer minute and seconds divisions, and Arabic quarter-hour numerals. Blued steel pierced hands. Brand: Ilbery London, Switzerland Model: The Pear Year: Circa 18220 Movement: 6141 Caliber: 45 mm., gilt "Chinese" caliber, entirely foliate chased and engraved, standing barrel, duplex escapement, three-arm gold balance with three steel screws, blued steel flat balance spring, diamond endstone, index regulator. Diameter: 63 x 53 mm. Weight: 141 gr. Signature: Movement Grading System: EXCEPTIONAL Case: 3-75 (Good , Slightly restored soft enamel) Dial: 3-71-01 (Good , Hairlines , HANDS Original) Movement: 3* (Good , Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense) HKD: 478,000 - 960,000 USD: 61,000 - 122,000 EUR: 54,000 - 108,000 JPY: 9,590,000 - 19,180,000 William Ilbery (circa 1760-1839) Active in London from 1780, William Ilbery specialized in luxury watches made for the Chinese market, following the pioneering work of James Cox in London and Jaquet Droz in Switzerland. His early production was in the English style, with full-plate movements and English-type single-wheel duplex escapements. For his highest-quality watches, however, he incorporated spring-detent escapements. The cases were in the style of those produced in England at the time. Later, alongside Jaquet Droz’s Swiss production signed in London and the work of William Anthony, who was active in London, Ilbery’s movements were increasingly inspired by the Lépine calibre, with its free-standing barrel. He thereby established a new standard for watches made for the Asian market. Ilbery had profusely engraved movements produced in Switzerland, principally in Fleurier. He was followed in this practice by makers such as Bovet and Juvet. Bovet and Juvet later organized the mass production of silver-cased watches and, once their Canton workshops were established, assembled them in China. Ilbery can therefore be considered the “father” of the Chinese watches as they are known today. Ilbery’s watch cases were decorated by some of Geneva’s finest enamellers, including Jean-François-Victor Dupont and Jean-Louis Richter. He appears to have maintained close contacts with the continental trade, as evidenced by a watch signed “Ilbery Paris”. Ilbery & Son are also recorded in London and Fleurier, as well as in Canton. “Chinese” watches were often sold in pairs and were therefore fitted in specially designed boxes. When such pairs of watches were enamelled, they were invariably painted in a symmetrical, opposing manner, like mirror images.

Stima:€53,925.55

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