Signed Salvator Micallef à Malte, circa 1800

This fascinating and beautiful watch is highly unusual in being made in the style of the early 17th century although actually made in Malta at the end of the 18th or early 19th century. It was perhaps a special commission for a particular client as Micallef’s other known watches are of typical neoclassical form. The style of enamelling seen here is known as ronde-bosse, the pierced and chased high-relief flowers are then enamelled to create a sumptuous effect. The ronde-bosse technique was particularly popular in the first half of the 17th century in France and Switzerland. The Maltese watchmaker Salvatore Micallef is listed as working from c1790 until the early 19th century.