Skip to content
The Encyclopedia of Horology

Pocket watch · Bienne

Montre en or ronde gravée

Verified

Round engraved watch. Case signed: Js Ls Jacot. Dome engraved: MOUVEMENT A 370 JOURS ECHAPPEMENT A CYLINDRE SEIZE TROUS EN RUBIS. Dial signed: F BOVET A BIENNE EN SUISSE. Movement signed: F BOVET A BIENNE. Circa 1880.

Technical facts

Inventory number
MIH I-171
Object type
Pocket watch
Place of production
Bienne
Dating
c. 1880
Materials and techniques (catalogue wording)
or, laiton, acier
Dimensions (catalogue)
Dimensions: 83.4 x 57.4 x 20.0 mm; poids: 175.500 g
Inscriptions (catalogue)
Js Ls Jacot (Boîtier); MOUVEMENT A 370 JOURS ECHAPPEMENT A CYLINDRE SEIZE TROUS EN RUBIS (Cuvette); F BOVET A BIENNE EN SUISSE (Cadran); F BOVET A BIENNE (Mouvement)

Historical significance

  • Round engraved watch. Case signed: Js Ls Jacot. Dome engraved: MOUVEMENT A 370 JOURS ECHAPPEMENT A CYLINDRE SEIZE TROUS EN RUBIS. Dial signed: F BOVET A BIENNE EN SUISSE. Movement signed: F BOVET A BIENNE. Circa 1880.
  • The back of the gold case is engraved with a scene copied from a well-known painting by Léopold Robert (1794-1835) in the Louvre, The Arrival of the Reapers in the Pontine Marshes.
  • This miniaturized copy testifies to the superlative skills of the casemaker, Jules Louis Jacot, who was born in Le Locle in 1826.
  • The dial plate is decorated with a local landscape of a lake surrounded by mountains. The gold dial, engine-turned with concentric circles, has black enamelled Roman numerals.
  • The gilded brass movement, with a power reserve of around one year, has a very long mainspring enclosed in a large barrel. Its cover, like the bridges, is engraved with a mille feuilles pattern, which became very fashionable in the 1890’s. The movement has a cylinder escapement. The watch is wound and set with a key.

Photographs

Montre en or ronde gravée (MIH I-171)
Montre en or ronde gravée (MIH I-171) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record
Montre en or ronde gravée (MIH I-171)
Montre en or ronde gravée (MIH I-171) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record
Montre en or ronde gravée (MIH I-171)
Montre en or ronde gravée (MIH I-171) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record

Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.

Sources & references

  1. Musée international d'horlogerie, online collection record, inv. I-171: https://collection.mih.ch/fr/collection/item/35817/

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