Watch, Jean Pattru, ca. 1670

European watches were sent to the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century. From the beginning of the seventeenth century there was a body of Genevan watchmakers in Constantinople.

In April 1671 Sébastien Chappuis in Constantinople ordered fifty astronomical watches from one Genevan maker and forty from another. Astronomical watches had a particular appeal because they could assist in the calculation of religious festivals. The case of this watch appears to have been decorated and probably made in Turkey. The movement was probably made by a Swiss watchmaker, either in Geneva, for the Ottoman market, or in Turkey.

The dial and movement bear finely executed Arabic inscriptions, which indicate that they were engraved in Turkey, not in Geneva. The name inscribed on the top plate of the movement in Arabic has been read as 'Jan Ptrw'. A number of watchmakers named Pattru (or Patru) are recorded as working in Geneva in the seventeenth century. 'Jan Ptrw' may refer to Jean Pattru, who was working in the rue du Temple in 1666. Engraved gilt brass and silver watch.

The gilt-brass case is engraved with scrolling foliage and flowers on a horizontally engraved ground. On the lid the flowers and foliage issue from a vase. The silver dial is engraved with flowers and foliage on a horizontally engraved ground. The upper dial has a hand which points to the day of the month (with 'Indian' numerals, 1-29) on a gilt-metal ring. The lower dial has a hand which points to the hours (with 'Indian numerals', 1-12) on a gilt-metal ring.

There are three apertures in the dial. The top one is circular and shows the phases of the moon. The others show the days of the week and the months (see inscriptions). The movement has a verge escapement with fusee and gut. The top plate is engraved with floral decoration and, in Arabic, 'Jan Ptrw'. It has a pierced cock with single pierced foot.