Some of the most memorable and eye-catching watches on display are the ones with enamel cases that date from the 18th and 19th centuries. Watches decorated with enamel paintings were highly prized commodities in this period, fashioned after popular miniature paintings that were executed on paper, parchment or ivory. One stellar example: Gold and Enamel Pendant Watch (c. 1685), with enameling by Pierre Huaud II (1647 — c. 1698), the son of a French Protestant who fled France for Geneva in the early 17th century. His family was known for its brightly colored enamel watchcase paintings, miniatures inspired by real-life paintings or prints. In this case, Simon Vouet’s The Toilet of Venus (c. 1640) is the inspiration. Think of Huaud’s rendition as a masterpiece in a teacup.
Other masterpieces:
Watches and clocks by the pioneering father-son horologists, Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823) and Antoine-Louis Breguet (1776-1858). Their late 18th and early 19th century timepieces were extremely accurate and "set in sober and elegant cases" (see Gold and Silver Double-Dial Desk Watch Showing Decimal and Traditional Time, c.1795 — after 1807). 
Walk to the far end of the Portico for a look at The Dance of Time, Three Nymphs Supporting a Clock (1788), a gorgeous amalgam of neoclassical statuary by French sculptor Claude Michel Clodion and a clock movement (pendulum, rotating dial, and small bell), this one designed by Parisian clockmaker Jean-Baptiste Lepaute and encased in a glass globe. It is displayed apart from the other works, on top of a pedestal — where it belongs.
Precision and Splendor: Clocks and Watches at The Frick Collection, through February 2, 2014; 1 East 70th Street, New York, NY
©2013 Val Castronovo for SeniorWomen.com
Images:
Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823) and Antoine-Louis Breguet (1776–1858), Gold and Silver Double-Dial Desk Watch Showing Decimal and Traditional Time, c. 1795– after 1807, The Frick Collection, Bequest of Winthrop Kellogg Edey; photo: Michael Bodycomb
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