Ilbery Chinese Market Enamel Painting Pocket Watch
Inventory Number: PW2303006LC
Made in London, England, circa 1815, signed Ilbery. 57mm, 18K yellow gold case with decorated enamel bezels, pendant, and bow. The enamel painting scene depicts flower bouquets on a royal blue background, specially made for the Chinese market. Case no. 346. Engraved Chinese-style scrolled foliage caliber, duplex escapement.
Functions: hours, minutes, and center seconds.
On loan from the private collection of Mr. Yeung Sau Wong.
Brand History
William Ilbery, a watchmaker who specialized in making fine enameled watches for export to China and the Far East. Around 1800, William Ilbery(circa1760-1839) arrived in Macau with a collection of watches, and he was one of the first London manufacturers to produce watches in the style known as 'la montre chinoise' ('the Chinese watch'). His original workshop was located on Goswell Street in the City of London, and latter employed artisans in Geneva and the Neuchatel Jura.
Glossary of Material Terms
Enamel
A vitreous substance which main component is silica mixed with oxides (transition metals) that create a vast palette of colors. Enamel is used to decorate metal surfaces, gold, silver, and copper.
Painting on the Enamel
A gold or copper plate is coated with base enamel and then fired. The colors are in powder form which the enamel-painter dilutes as and when they are needed using an oily or semi-oily essence, before applying them with a fine brush. Each color is dried and then fired before the next is applied. A work can be fired numerous times.
The Chinese market pocket watch is the pocket watch that was specially made for the Chinese market in the 18th to 19th centuries by European watchmakers. It was originally used as a tribute to the Qing Dynasty royal family and spread among the public gradually. Many cases were generally made of silver, brass, gilt-brass, or silver, and decorated with painted enamel with pearls or precious jewels.
The movements are so-called “Chinese Caliber”, and many of them were engraved with beautiful patterns such as scrolled flowers and foliage, the designs were significantly recognizable. From the Chinese collectors ‘view, these kinds of pocket watches are called "The big-eight pieces”. (There is such a statement that the movement was usually designed to consist of a barrel and seven main components, eight pieces in total, and “eight" is considered as the homonym of "fortune" in Chinese, so they were gradually known as "The big-eight pieces" from the 19th century in Chinese.
