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LAPIS LAZULI MINIATURE DESK CLOCK
Carved lapis lazuli case with in built Hardinge lever manual
winding watch, with silver embellished design around the
case. The top has a secret compartment in gold foil.
Gross Weight: 196.85 grams
Height: 7.7 cm
Width: 5.5 cm
Depth: 2.7 cm
$ 2,030 ‒ 2,705
Rs 1,50,000 ‒ 2,00,000
This lot is offered at NO RESERVE
Desk clocks were popular throughout the latter half of the 19
th
century, and were usually compact and convenient, measuring
between three to three-and-a-half inches in height. Depending on the period, many were simple in design, but others were
enhanced with engravings or decorative materials. The present lot features embellishments in silver, gold foil, and lapis lazuli – a
rich blue rock that has been used for thousands of years to fashion jewellery as well as a carving material for decorative and
practical objects including game boards, bowls, and dagger handles.
Clocks often included features and mechanisms manufactured around the world. The Hardinge brothers, both engineers, were
natives of Canada and set up a family business in Chicago in the 1890s, making watchmakers’ tools.
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