Montre ovale à réveil

Historical significance

• A watchmaking masterpiece, this oval alarm watch is the fruit of combined skills. Its movement was made in Augsburg, while its remarkable case, with its cover depicting “Jesus bearing the cross” in Limoges painted enamel, is the product of French workshops.
• The case cover is decorated with a Limoges enamel painting of Jesus carrying the Cross, while the silver back shows a scene from antiquity with two vestal virgins near a sacred fire. A gilded brass frieze, engraved and pierced with scrolls and fantasy animals and figures, winds around the side of the case.
• The silver false-plate on the dial is decorated with flowered scrolls among which are two rabbits, a person on a barrel, and a grotesque mask. A chapter ring, numbered from I to XII, indicates the time, while a second ring, with Arabic numerals, is used for setting the alarm.
• The movement, equipped with an alarm mechanism, has a fusee with a gut line, an annular balance and a verge escapement. The square balance cock and the click are pierced and engraved with scrolls of strawberry flowers.
• The painted I L monogram between Christ's feet tells us that this enamel painting was the work of Jean Limosin, born around 1561 and the son of Léonard I Limosin. A work dating from 1619 gives his title as Esmailleur du Roy (the King's Enameller). Reflecting contemporary taste, his work (crosses, dishes, bowls and plaques) is characterized by bright-coloured enamels, gold highlights and spangles. Indeed, the fascination of this watch lies in the richness and depth of the artist's enamel colours, especially Christ's purple robe and the emerald green of a breastplate.

Sources & references

1. Musée international d'horlogerie, online collection record, inv. I-1147: https://collection.mih.ch/fr/collection/item/39888/

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.