Audemars Piguet

First seen on a pocket watch at the start of the 17^th century, the art of enameling is one of the oldest arts still practiced in horology. That being said, it is arguably one of the most difficult mediums to work with, requiring training, experience and meticulous execution. Seen here is the technique of polychrome enamel, where an enamellist has directly painted on the surface of the pocket watch with inspiration from famous paintings.

A founder of the Impressionist movement, French painter Edgar Degas was most known for oil and pastel works depicting dancers. Not just the movement of the female form, but the culture on and off stage, power dynamics between dancer and patron and their human psyche. Able to capture intense emotion in his craft, Fin d’arabesque is a beautiful representation of his incredible talent, illustrating a dancer holding a final arabesque at the end of her performance while clutching a bouquet of flowers, likely a gift from a patron.

The present lot belongs to a series of ten enamel patterns, all of them depict different stories including navy, falcon hunting or other mythical sceneries made by sophisticated artists especially for Audemars Piguet. Although the dial side can be ornamented differently from one another, they have the same reference number powered by the same calibre. Rarely seen in the market, this timepiece is a scarce example of Italian jewelry enamellist Gabriella Rivalta’s work.