Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

Black Starr & Frost. A gold, enamel, diamond and onyx Art Deco ‘Autel’ timepiece, circa 1928
Movement: manual winding, no. 28849.
Dial: silvered, engine-turned sunburst pattern, Roman numerals.
Case: gold, onyx panel to top, white enamel geometric lines to sides and covers, hinged covers to reveal Roman numerals to dial and the interior, diamond-set handles, carved hardstone base, French assay mark, maker’s mark CD with a flower.
Signed: dial
Dimensions: height 5.9cm, width 3.1cm.
Accessories: red leather Van Cleef & Arpels fitted presentation case
£6,000-£8,000

Black, Starr & Frost is the oldest continuously operating jeweller in America, founded in 1810 by Isaac Marquand. Marilyn Monroe referred to the brand in the song “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” in the 1953 film “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.”
The large Roman numerals lining the dial and extending across the interior was a design innovation patented by J. Vergely of Paris in 1925, in order to make the time easier to read.
For a similar examples by Cartier see: Le Temps De Cartier, J. Barracca, G. Negretti & F. Nencini, (1989), p.177 and Cartier 1900-1939, Judy Rudoe, (1997), p.132.