OFFICER’S CLOCK Robert & Courvoisier Circa 1780 Switzerland

M&R105a

OFFICER’S CLOCK
Signed: Robert & Courvoisier
Circa 1780
Switzerland

Movement
The spring-driven brass movement is constructed between two circular plates and consists of going and quarter-hour striking trains. The going train has a spring barrel, fusee, verge escapement and balance with hairspring on a platform. The striking is of the ‘grande sonnerie’ type, which means that it indicates the hours in full on a bell on the hour and on the quarter hours the hour last struck, followed by the quarter hours on two bells. The striking can be repeated on request by pulling a cord on the left side of the case. The striking can also be set to ‘petite sonnerie’ or ‘silence’. The movement also has an alarm, which is wound by pulling a cord on the right side of the case. The backplate bears the following number: 10.448.

Dial
The movement has a white enamel dial with an Arabic chapter ring with Arabic quarter, five-minute and minute divisions. The time is indicated by a pair of beautifully pierced and engraved gilt brass hands. The alarm hand is made of blued steel. The dial is signed above the centre in an oval cartouche as follows: Robert & Courvoisier. The dial is protected by a convex glass, set in an engine-turned bezel, which functions as a door.

Case
The bronzed cast brass case is embellished with ormolu ornaments. The case is surmounted by a handle in the shape of two snakes.

Duration 1 week.
Height 25 cm.
Width 12 cm.

The makers
Robert & Courvoisier is one of the best-known Swiss watchmaking companies active in the last quarter of the 18th century and the first years of the following century. It came about by the association of two watchmaking families, the Roberts and the Courvoisiers. Josué Robert (1691-1771) founded the family workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds around 1715 and received the title of ‘Clockmaker of the King’ in 1725. Having close family ties to the Jaquet-Droz and Sandoz families, he became famous for his inventions and numerous innovations in watchmaking, which helped make La Chaux-de-Fonds a very active watchmaking centre. One of his sons, Louis-Benjamin Robert (1732-1781) worked in his father’s workshop and became director after his death in 1771; the company was called “J. Robert et fils”. In 1781, after Louis-Benjamin’s death, his son Aimé Robert (1758-1834) succeeded him and almost immediately (on April 30, 1781) entered into a partnership with Louis Courvoisier (1758-1832), the son of an engraver from Neuchâtel, under the name “J. Robert et fils et Cie”. Aimé Robert was in charge of sales and sought commercial opportunities for their business throughout Europe. Louis Courvoisier was in charge of the workshop and supervised the production. In 1791, an inventory of the workshop listed hundreds of clocks, numerous employees, craftsmen and workmen, and emphasized the company’s important commercial ties with Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy and many other European countries. The company was then called “J. Robert et fils, Courvoisier & Cie”. The Napoleonic Wars and political instability of the early years of the 19th century caused great difficulties for the company; the workshop reduced its production and concentrated its efforts on very high-quality pieces intended for export. At the time, the company, then called “Robert Courvoisier & Cie”, dominated watch production, which, however, declined sharply. In 1811, after Aimé Robert retired, the company was known as “Courvoisier & Cie”. It remained active for almost two more decades.