A gold singing bird enamelled snuffbox set with diamonds made $230,000 at a sale at Bonhams New York on December 12 - achieving an increase of 29.4%.
Initially the box was attributed to Freres Rochat, however it transpires that it was in fact made by Jean Georges Reymond, Isaac-Daniel Piguet and Henri Capt - three noted builders of automata.
|
The mechanism is marked with a number seven, indicating that it was built by the makers early in their partnership, and dates to around the beginning of the 19th century.
It features a bird that emerges from the box to flap its wings and sing when a key is wound.
The box was purchased by Turkish Sultan Abdul Aziz (1830-1876) in the mid 19th century and embellished with the monogram of his son, Prince Shehzade Mahmud Celaleddin Efendi (1862-1888).
Dr Jonathan Snellenburg, director of clocks and watches at Bonhams New York, described the piece prior to the sale as "a sumptuous masterwork of early 19th century Swiss clock making."
A 14k gold Rolex chronograph wristwatch with an after-market dial, circa 1966, made $45,000, while an Audemars, Piguet 18k gold chronograph watch dating to the 1940s achieved $38,750.
Recently a Rolex Submariner with the rare explorer dial made $141,000 - a new auction record for the model.
We have this Longines Men's Olympic Series Watch for sale.
Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest on clocks, watches and other collectibles.