VAUCHER FRÈRES, YELLOW GOLD QUARTER REPEATING WANDERING HOUR POCKET WATCH WITH DECORATIVE MOVEMENT AND SERPENT GONGS

Watches with a wandering hour dial first appeared in the 17th century and have enjoyed periodic revivals ever since. More recently, the idea was introduced into the wristwatch by brands including Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin. This excellent wandering hour watch is one of a small number of rare examples made in the first quarter of the 19th century. In particular, the present watch is of very high quality with white enamel sector minutes dial and ’wandering’ hours numerals. Superbly finished throughout, the movement is intended to be admired and features a blued steel backplate as a foil for the mirror-polished repeating work, balance bridge and hammers. The two coiled gongs are designed in the form of serpents, a rare and fanciful conceit.
The dial consists of a disc indicating the hours, the disc moves along the minute scale. When it reaches the 60 minutes point, the disc for the next hour appears on the left and replaces the previous elapsed hour disc.

A similar watch is illustrated in: A Voyage Through Time, Richard Chadwick, London: Unicorn, 2020, p. 311.