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Lot Essay
This stunning Grand Feu cloisonné enamel decorated clock is a superb and extremely beautiful example of the revered Patek Philippe dome clocks, signed by an eminent master enameller, this captivating clock named ‘Oriental Ornaments’ features a myriad of colours, each different glass compound contained within wire cells (cloisons). It is inspired by traditional antique Chinese cloisonné enamels of the 17th to 19th centuries.
The three cloisonné enamel curved side panels feature plant based motifs with interwoven flowers, leaves and branches, the dome and the dial panel is decorated to match, the hours chapter ring with Breguet numerals is centered by a flinqué panel overlaid with translucent sandy-beige enamel. The design was created by the highly skilled enamel artist using 28.45 meters of 24k gold wire weighing 56.9 grams which is painstakingly shaped by hand to form the designs before being affixed to the base plate. The cloisons were then filled with 29 varieties of opaque and transparent enamel colours, requiring 12 to 15 firings at a temperature of 900 degrees centigrade.
The cloisonné enamel technique is only ever used by Patek Philippe for very small editions of timepieces or unique dome clocks. The very limited production is a result of the few artisans skilled enough to decorate the clock's challenging curved surfaces, exquisite works of art in their own right and highly appreciated in today's collector market. Since their launch in 1955, few examples of these clocks are produced every year, each unique by its individually decorated case featuring cloisonné enamel scenes or sometimes engraved or leather-covered with applied ornaments. The completion of one single clock can take up to a year, resulting in an exceptionally beautiful work of art.
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 caliber 17’’’ PEND DOME mechanical movement rewound by a battery powered electric motor. 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 colours. 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.
Examples of Dome clocks are prominently illustrated and described in: Patek Philippe Museum - Patek Philippe Watches Vol. II, pp. 403 - 411.
The three cloisonné enamel curved side panels feature plant based motifs with interwoven flowers, leaves and branches, the dome and the dial panel is decorated to match, the hours chapter ring with Breguet numerals is centered by a flinqué panel overlaid with translucent sandy-beige enamel. The design was created by the highly skilled enamel artist using 28.45 meters of 24k gold wire weighing 56.9 grams which is painstakingly shaped by hand to form the designs before being affixed to the base plate. The cloisons were then filled with 29 varieties of opaque and transparent enamel colours, requiring 12 to 15 firings at a temperature of 900 degrees centigrade.
The cloisonné enamel technique is only ever used by Patek Philippe for very small editions of timepieces or unique dome clocks. The very limited production is a result of the few artisans skilled enough to decorate the clock's challenging curved surfaces, exquisite works of art in their own right and highly appreciated in today's collector market. Since their launch in 1955, few examples of these clocks are produced every year, each unique by its individually decorated case featuring cloisonné enamel scenes or sometimes engraved or leather-covered with applied ornaments. The completion of one single clock can take up to a year, resulting in an exceptionally beautiful work of art.
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 caliber 17’’’ PEND DOME mechanical movement rewound by a battery powered electric motor. 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 colours. 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.
Examples of Dome clocks are prominently illustrated and described in: Patek Philippe Museum - Patek Philippe Watches Vol. II, pp. 403 - 411.