405 George Dutens, London, 41 mm, 78 g, circa 1750 An ornamental gold-mounted agate pocket watch with verge escapement and matching chatelaine, extensively studded with diamonds and rubies - case and chatelaine German, possibly Berlin or Dresden. Case: 22k gold, red agate with white grains, diamonds, rubies, two diamond thumbpieces. Chatelaine: 22k gold, red agate with white grains, diamonds, rubies, length 125 mm. Case and chatelaine struck with unidentified marks. Dial: enamel. Movm.: full plate movement, keywind, chain/fusee, three-arm brass balance. The back of the pocket watch was cut from a single piece of agate and mounted in gold. The centre is decorated with an applied gold wire flower basket and flowers of cut diamonds and rubies set in silver; the ornament is surrounded by a border of flowers that is repeated on the bezel. The three-part chatelaine is covered with agate plates and decorated with flower baskets matching those on the watch. George Dutens, London Little information appears to be known about the working life of George Dutens, whose signature appears on the watch, beyond a reference in Baillie’s List of Watch and Clockmakers which simply notes - Mid.18c. According to Williamson, writing a biography of George in the Pierpont Morgan collection catalogue (see details below), he may have descended from a branch of the family from Angers. However there is evidence supporting the possibility that he was related to, or at least collaborating with his far more illustrious namesake Peter Dutens, Jeweller to the English Court and Augusta, Princess of Wales. Certainly such an expensively decorated watch would be destined for a wealthy patron. Peter Dutens was born at Preuilly, France in 1700, naturalised by Act of Parliament in 1741, resided at No.19 Leicester Fields (1734 - 1748) and removed to No. 53 (1748 - 1761). Following his death in 1761, his son, also Peter, took over the business which certainly continued up to the latter’s death in 1775. There was a sibling named George, but he joined the Church. Peter Dutens Senior amassed a considerable fortune, noted by his nephew, Louis Dutens, the author and member of the Royal Society, as being £75,000 (Dutens, L., Memoires D’un Voyageur, London 1807, p. 62). Louis, also an expert in precious stones, came to England circa 1750 to visit and reside with his uncle, and was to spend the rest of his life here, although he travelled extensively in Europe, visiting both Berlin and Potsdam; an opportunity to become familiar with the jewelled and hard stone objects being created there. Significantly, Peter Dutens lived in Leicester Fields (now Square), close by his patron, Frederick, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to George II. A recently rediscovered clock, now in the V.& A. Museum (Inv. no.M.1:1-2016), was made by Dutens for the Prince, the case being of French manufacture and the movement by Charles Clay (Royal clockmaker). The catalogue entry makes note of the eagle cresting and postulates that this could be an homage to the Prussian Court of Frederick the Great, cousin and role model to the Prince of Wales. Further evidence of the possible Dutens connection with the German Court is the fact that the extraordinary collection of Art amassed by Frederick the Great included numerous hard stone and jewel-set boxes, made in Royal workshops in Berlin, and created using techniques very similar to the watch and chatelaine now offered for sale. A further watch signed by the elusive George, housed in a gold, diamond and bloodstone case, is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum (Acc. no.17.190.1451, Pierpont Morgan Collection bequest 1917), with another very similar being signed by Peter. In view of the extended use of hard stones and the Dutens likely connections with the Hanoverian family, it is not impossible that the case and chatelaine of this lot were jewelled in the Berlin workshops. Another watch by George Dutens decorated with heliotrope and diamonds is part of the Pierpont Morgan Collection and is described on pages 180 and 181 of the “Catalogue of the Collection of Watches - The Property of J. Pierpont Morgan”. George Dutens 倫敦 — 裝飾風格,奢華的鑲鑽,紅寶石早期冠輪懷錶, 搭配黃金鑲邊的瑪瑙錶殼及同系列鑲鑽,紅寶石瑪瑙錶鍊。據猜測,錶 殼和錶鍊是來自柏林或德累斯顿的德國作品 45279 C: 2, 33, 38 D: 2, 16 M: 2, 41, 51 32.000 - 45.000 EUR 37.800 - 53.100 USD 294.400 - 414.000 HKD