HENRY CAPT "MUSIQUE D'AMOUR" QUARTER REPEATING
MUSICAL WATCH WITH THREE AUTOMATON ACTIONS
Henry Capt à Genève, No. 602, retailed by Mignolet, Rue N.ve Des P.its Champs à Paris. Made circa 1810.
Extremely fine and equally rare, large, 18K gold and painted on enamel, two-train, quarter-repeating
musical watch with musicians and birds automaton scene on the dial plate, playing at will.
Three-body, "Empire", maker's mark ID, polished back and bezel, reeded band with button at 5
o'clock for activation of the music and automaton. Hinged gilt cuvette engraved with a musical score
and the retailer's details, apertures for winding and hand-setting.
Small eccentric gold, engine turned and engraved, Breguet numerals on a plain reserve, outer dot
minute divisions. Steel Breguet hands. The gold dial plate finely painted on enamel with a scene of a
landscape with a classical fountain, the foreground applied with a varicolored gold chased automaton
scene of a seated gentleman playing the mandolin and a seated lady playing the lyre, to the side two
birds in an arbor, one moving towards the other with the music.
Gilt brass full plate, finely foliate engraved, double train movement with cylindrical pillars, going
barrel and cylinder escapement, plain gold three-arm balance, flat balance spring, small pierced and
chased gilt brass clock with jeweled end-piece, Maltese cross stopwork, silver regulation dial, repeating
on gongs activated by depressing the pendant,. Musical train with pinned-barrel and eight blued steel
tuned blades mounted in two stacks of four set between the plates.