Swiss

 

circa 1925-30

 

Serial number 649,

 

Our blue angel...

 

When wound with captive folding key and start/stop slide actuated, the bird lid opens as the bird suddenly appears, moving painted metal beak, flapping both wings, bobbing tailfeather and turning whole body from side-to-side, synchronised to the continuous birdsong accompaniment, darting back down as lid closes to finish the performance.

 

The bird with feathered plumage to a superb palette of colour, including turquoise, dark blue, rich brown and black, banded with flashes of bright iridescence in tones of red, orange, green and gold, finished with a black speckled green tailfeather, rising up through the finely pierced seamless gilt grille with matching centrum, lid interior with enamel study of oval floral spray on Royal blue ground and the top with a view of a resting flower girl about to be surprised by a young hansom admirer who emerges from behind a tree, seated lambs to the edge of a cornfield.  Chased gilt border with raised baulles.  

In casket-form cast gilt bronze superstructure, is mounted to main top, front, back and sides inset rectangular panels of incredibly fine guilloche enamel to the radiating zig-zag pattern in soft powder blue, enhanced by scroll branches and double mistletoe trail appliqués, edges with grande and petit stylised mitre points, wide plinth base with multi-decoration bands.  Opening on rear hinge to bright polished gilt interior with access to the captive winding grip and more than enough room for keepsakes and jewellery.  Stamped to underside 649.

In the period travelling case finished with textured red paper, velvet lined interior.

 

Size - 4.1/2in. wide, 2.7/8in. deep, 2.1/8in. high - (11.5 x 7.5 x 5.2cm)

 

Reference -

 

Flights of Fancy, C. Bailly, 2001 - see p. 369 where bottom two illustrations show very similar movement detailing the exposed centrifuge governor and tempered split-pinned pivoted song pitch and main valve levers.

 

Point of Interest - 

 

This rare survivor from Marguerat has just as much interest for the eye on the outside as it does on key features with the movement on the inside.  Usually based on the centrifuge method of time-keeping, the governor designs differ minimally from one Marguerat movement to another, although the principle is exactly the same.  In this movement, instead of hairpin arms mounted on the metal core with cork pads touching the inside of the enclosure drum as it rotates, the core is hardwood with the wire hairpin arms issuing from a centre groove, which touch a fixed metal bar mounted from the endless bracket.  The lightweight moving components and body make, as a whole, a truly clever and efficient method of time-keeping, which is automatically adjusted instantly.  

 

The blue panels of enamel, like most other models displaying the inset design, are fired on metal which is fitted within the gilt bronze superstructure with seamless precision - no gap or orientation anomalies seen whatsoever. 

 

Extraordinary beauty captured in a way only the Swiss workshops were able to pull off.