Enamelled gold watch, signed 'Baillon A Paris', with a casemaker's mark, 'RC crowned', probably Switzerland, mid 18th century

Enamelled gold watch, signed 'Baillon A PARIS', with a casemaker's mark, 'RC crowned'. The case is chased, engraved and painted in polychrome enamel with a scene after Boucher in a cartouche of scrollwork, largely symmetrical except for an asymmetrical scroll at the base. Outside the cartouche and around the bezel enamelled flowers and foliage on a ground formed of alternating panels of diagonal engraving in which each panel contrasts with the next in its direction of line. White enamel dial with black Roman hour numerals and arabic miinute numerals (5 to 60). Ornate gilt-metal hands. Winding hole at III (enamelling chipped). Verge escapement. Bridge cock. Angular baluster pillars.

Bequeathed by Mr John George Joicey

The enamelled scene derives from an engraving by Jacques Philippe Le Bas (1707-1783) with the title 'Pensent-ils au raisin?' which was executed after a painting dated 1747 by François Boucher.

The best watches by J. B. Baillon have hallmarks and movement numbers on the top plate and are signed with fuller signatures. It is reasonable to suggest that this watch, which has a casemaker’s mark in the style of casemakers who worked in Geneva, was made in Switzerland to undercut the fine French watches. There are many other watches bearing only the surname 'Baillon' and it seems likely that they are using the name of a famous Paris maker, Jean-Baptiste Baillon, to win the misplaced confidence of the buyer. The Swiss watchmaking industry was extraordinarily successful in producing attractive watches which found a ready export market in Europe and beyond.

M.201-1919