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Lot Essay
This exquisitely beautiful and rare example of a pendant watch made in the high Art Nouveau style is so evocative of Paris in the opening years of the 20th century. In 1902 when Madame Griffe purchased this watch from Breguet it was the non plus ultra in fashion and refined taste.
Art Nouveau gold work such as in the present watch with its use of bold reduction of natural forms made full use of the art of the enameller and in particular the technique seen here known as “plique-à-jour” (French for “letting in daylight”). With this technique, translucent enamel fills pierced-out cells but has no backing so that the enamel is “suspended” solely by surface tension in the cells, in effect like a miniature version of stained glass. Plique-à-jour was used extensively by the most famous exponents of the Art Nouveau style, Lalique and Tiffany.
Art Nouveau gold work such as in the present watch with its use of bold reduction of natural forms made full use of the art of the enameller and in particular the technique seen here known as “plique-à-jour” (French for “letting in daylight”). With this technique, translucent enamel fills pierced-out cells but has no backing so that the enamel is “suspended” solely by surface tension in the cells, in effect like a miniature version of stained glass. Plique-à-jour was used extensively by the most famous exponents of the Art Nouveau style, Lalique and Tiffany.