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Lot Essay
The present clock is a superb and extremely beautiful example of the revered Patek Philippe dome clocks, signed by the eminent enameller Madame Luce Chappaz, this captivating scene ‘La dame à la licorne’ features a myriad of colours, each different glass compound contained within wire cells (cloisons). It is inspired by the series of tapestries titled ‘La dame à la licorne’ (The Lady and the Unicorn), often considered one of the greatest works of art of the Middle Ages in Europe and currently in the Musée de Cluny in Paris. They were woven in the medieval style of "mille-fleurs" or "thousand flowers" in Flanders in the early 16th century.
The Lady and the Unicorn
The story told on all three panels as well as on the dome narrate the age old tale of ‘The Lady and the Unicorn,’ a modern name given a series of six tapestries woven in Flanders that depict one of the fundamental aspects of human nature, the five senses. What is an extremely romantic notion that is tied into the original tale is that the Lady in fact has a magical secret sixth sense, that of love. On the present clock the tale is re-told in vivid enamel, rather than wool and silk as it once was.
Enamel Artist Luce Chappaz
Luce Chappaz was a master artist enameller working mostly for Patek Philippe from the mid-20th century. Her signature is found from the late 1950s to the early 1990s on dome clocks but also on pocket watches and miniatures. Incredibly, one of her first jobs for the firm was the painting of some of the King Saud portraits, in 1956-1957, one of the last important work identified is the 1991 700th Swiss anniversary clock. During the four decades she worked for Patek Philippe, we can see her signature on more than 50 pieces total. Along with Suzanne Rohr and Elizabeth Perusset Lagger she will be remembered as one of the best enamellers at Patek Philippe.
Patek Philippe Dome Clocks
Patek Philippe launched the solar-powered dome clock in the mid-20th century. They boast lavish and uniquely decorated cases featuring engravings of varying pattern or cloisonné enamel scenes. Still in production today, most likely due to their continued popularity, they were made in three series.
First series: Produced in the 1950s and 1960s with a mechanical 17’’’250 E pocket watch movement powered through the solar panel in the dome, the number ‘17’ derived from the diameter measurement of the movement which comes from an old industrial measurement tradition whereby measurement was carried out using candle wicks in ‘lines’ or ‘lignes’, ‘250’ for the thickness, and ‘E’ for electric. The large solar panel supplies power to the cylindrical storage device which then transmits energy to wind the movement. The beauty of this patented mechanism allowing the clock to be functional in the dark. At the time, this patented technique was seen as revolutionary, Patek Philippe were seen as being able to “master the energy of light.”
Second series: Beginning in 1970, dome clocks were produced with Quartz movement with a smaller solar panel that seemed to have a higher position on the dome, becoming even smaller in the 1990s.
Third series: The only dome series with cell battery movement. This has a smaller solar panel or no solar panel seen from 2007 onwards.
Towards the end of the 1940's, the Swiss watchmaking industry revived the technique of cloisonné enamel which had been used since the Byzantine period. This technique uses fine bands (filaments) of gold to outline the design subject, which are then soldered to the surface of a plate. The empty spaces are then filled with ground enamel and fired multiple times at varying temperatures between 700 and 900 degrees centigrade to achieve different colors. Patek Philippe's enamellers can take up to one year to complete such a dome clock and less than a handful can be complete each year at their workshops. The artistry had been perfected over the decades and the artists could eventually miniaturize it to be made on wristwatches seen only from 1949 at Basel.
The Lady and the Unicorn
The story told on all three panels as well as on the dome narrate the age old tale of ‘The Lady and the Unicorn,’ a modern name given a series of six tapestries woven in Flanders that depict one of the fundamental aspects of human nature, the five senses. What is an extremely romantic notion that is tied into the original tale is that the Lady in fact has a magical secret sixth sense, that of love. On the present clock the tale is re-told in vivid enamel, rather than wool and silk as it once was.
Enamel Artist Luce Chappaz
Luce Chappaz was a master artist enameller working mostly for Patek Philippe from the mid-20th century. Her signature is found from the late 1950s to the early 1990s on dome clocks but also on pocket watches and miniatures. Incredibly, one of her first jobs for the firm was the painting of some of the King Saud portraits, in 1956-1957, one of the last important work identified is the 1991 700th Swiss anniversary clock. During the four decades she worked for Patek Philippe, we can see her signature on more than 50 pieces total. Along with Suzanne Rohr and Elizabeth Perusset Lagger she will be remembered as one of the best enamellers at Patek Philippe.
Patek Philippe Dome Clocks
Patek Philippe launched the solar-powered dome clock in the mid-20th century. They boast lavish and uniquely decorated cases featuring engravings of varying pattern or cloisonné enamel scenes. Still in production today, most likely due to their continued popularity, they were made in three series.
First series: Produced in the 1950s and 1960s with a mechanical 17’’’250 E pocket watch movement powered through the solar panel in the dome, the number ‘17’ derived from the diameter measurement of the movement which comes from an old industrial measurement tradition whereby measurement was carried out using candle wicks in ‘lines’ or ‘lignes’, ‘250’ for the thickness, and ‘E’ for electric. The large solar panel supplies power to the cylindrical storage device which then transmits energy to wind the movement. The beauty of this patented mechanism allowing the clock to be functional in the dark. At the time, this patented technique was seen as revolutionary, Patek Philippe were seen as being able to “master the energy of light.”
Second series: Beginning in 1970, dome clocks were produced with Quartz movement with a smaller solar panel that seemed to have a higher position on the dome, becoming even smaller in the 1990s.
Third series: The only dome series with cell battery movement. This has a smaller solar panel or no solar panel seen from 2007 onwards.
Towards the end of the 1940's, the Swiss watchmaking industry revived the technique of cloisonné enamel which had been used since the Byzantine period. This technique uses fine bands (filaments) of gold to outline the design subject, which are then soldered to the surface of a plate. The empty spaces are then filled with ground enamel and fired multiple times at varying temperatures between 700 and 900 degrees centigrade to achieve different colors. Patek Philippe's enamellers can take up to one year to complete such a dome clock and less than a handful can be complete each year at their workshops. The artistry had been perfected over the decades and the artists could eventually miniaturize it to be made on wristwatches seen only from 1949 at Basel.