Virgule Chatelaine Watch
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
circa 1790
This Swiss pocket watch, dated to approximately 1790, features a gilt virgule escapement and central seconds. The gilt movement is equipped with a hanging barrel, blued steel polished stop-work, and gear train components, including the barrel and pinions, which feature wolf's teeth profiles.
A simple three-armed gilt balance is positioned beneath the virgule wheel, controlled by a steel regulator without a graduated scale. The watch has a white enamel dial with signed script, Arabic numerals, and decorative openwork gold hands. The case is gold, decorated with translucent blue and white enamel, with a polychrome coat of arms on a dark blue guilloché ground. The cuvette is gilt, signed, and numbered, featuring a lever to stop the balance.
The watch is accompanied by a matching gold and enamel macaroni-style chatelaine with gold chain links and a coordinating enamel key.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Technical characteristics
- Date
- circa 1790
- Type
- Enamel, form & pendant watch
- Dial type
- White enamel dial
- Escapement
- Virgule escapement
- Movement type
- Key-wind gilt caliber
- Place recorded
- Switzerland
- Stop mechanism
- Balance stop lever
- Chatelaine type
- Macaroni style
- Maker / attribution
- Rojard, à Geneve
Design
- Dial and Hands
- The dial is composed of white enamel and is signed by the maker, Rojard. It features Arabic numerals to indicate the hours. The time is displayed via decorative openwork gold hands. The inclusion of a central seconds hand distinguishes this watch, which operates alongside the virgule escapement system designed for performance and compact architecture.
- Visible features
- • Case features a polychrome coat of arms on engine-turned blue enamel • White enamel dial signed 'Rojard, à Geneve' • Chatelaine includes rectangular and octagonal cartridges • Wolf's teeth gear profiles visible in the movement mechanism
- Case and Chatelaine
- The watch case is constructed from gold and embellished with translucent blue and white enamel. The reverse of the case displays a detailed polychrome family crest set against a dark blue ground, featuring engine-turned (guilloché) decoration. The back cover is spring-loaded and opens via a button located on the pendant. The timepiece is paired with a matching macaroni-style chatelaine made of gold and enamel, connected by gold chains. This ensemble includes various rectangular and octagonal cartridges, with a coordinating enamel winding key suspended from one of the shorter chains, similarly decorated with a family crest.
- Movement and Escapement
- The movement is a gilt, key-wound caliber featuring a hanging barrel with polished blue steel stop-work. The transmission train, including the barrel and pinions, utilizes wolf's teeth profiling. The balance assembly consists of a simple three-armed gilt balance wheel situated beneath a gold virgule escapement. Adjustment is facilitated by a steel regulator that lacks an external graduated scale. A specific feature of this movement is the integration of a small lever on the edge of the gilt, signed, and numbered inner cuvette, which allows the user to stop the balance movement.
Identification
- Source note
- Facts transcribed from the linked source listing or collection record. Attribution and specifications are source-reported and have not been independently authenticated.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: The exact identification of the armorial bearings is not provided
- Research required: The provenance of the object is not stated beyond its inclusion in the collection