Laforge. A fine 18K gold and cloisonné enamel openface keyless lever watch
Laforge. A fine 18K gold and cloisonné enamel openface keyless lever watch

SIGNED J. LAFORGE, GENEVE, NO. 24734, CIRCA 1900

Details
Laforge. A fine 18K gold and cloisonné enamel openface keyless lever watch
Signed J. Laforge, Geneve, no. 24734, circa 1900
With gilt-finished jewelled lever movement, gold cuvette with engraved inscription Fabriquée Spécialement pour J.G. Girard Madrid, the engine-turned silvered dial with Arabic numerals, blued steel moon-style hands, subsidiary seconds, in circular case with finely polychrome cloisonné enamel floral decoration, unsigned
49 mm. diam.

Lot Essay

The history of cloisonné enamel dates back to over 500 years ago to the reign of Jingtai (1450-1456) in the Ming dynasty. It is the decorative art of applying enamel of all colors to the surface of a gold, copper or bronze object which is then fired to become a bright and colorful work of art.

The making of cloisonné involves an elaborate and complicated processes: The artist creates the outline of the desired motif by arranging thin gold wires. These partitions, called "cloisonné" in French, are filled with small quantities of enamel powder in the desired colour. The object is then fired in an oven at around 1000 degrees Celsius causing the powder to melt. Finally it has to be hand-polished until obtaining of a perfectly flat surface.

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