20212M-001

Fauna on the ice floe This unique piece in Grand Feu cloisonné enamel pays homage to the abundance of creatures animating the North Pole, both on the ice and beneath it, and the fascinating spectacle of the aurora borealis. Tracing the outlines of the polar bears, the penguins and the killer whales called for some 8.31 m of gold wire (~16.4 g). The enameller then succeeded in rendering all subtle nuances of blue found in the far North, working with a palette of transparent, opalescent and opaque enamels in 41 colors. With 3 further colors of miniature painting on enamel, combined with his perfect mastery of that art, he conjured up the filmy veils of the aurora borealis and produced a frosted effect in the decoration. Silver leaf embedded beneath translucent enamel, according to the technique of paillonné enameling, enhances the striking sense of a polar atmosphere. Each enameled plate underwent from 9 to 15 firings at temperatures ranging from 900°C to 930°C. An hour circle in white mother-of-pearl adorned with applied baton-style baguette-cut hour markers in dark-blue topaz (~2.55 cts) frames leaf-shaped, rhodium-plated hands incrusted with mother-of-pearl. This celebration of life on the ice floes extends to the sculpted, rhodium-plated stalactites that also embellish the hour circle. This piece is powered by the caliber 17’’’ PEND mechanical movement rewound by an electric motor.