153 Boucheron An exceptionally rare and highly refined, vanity Minaudière, in silver and pink gold with pierced foliate decoration and rubies, surmounted by miniature watch with engraved case and enamel dial, complete with fitted handbag.

Estimate: Fr. 4'000 –⁠ 8'000

NO RESERVE

• Model Minaudière Watch
• Year Circa 1930s
• Case Material Silver, 18K pink gold and rubies
• Case Number 3'050
• Movement Manual, cal. 976, jewelled
• Dimension 8.5cm width × 13.5cm length x 2cm depth
• Signed Case and movement

What we have here is not merely a minaudière, nor simply a concealed watch, but a small manifesto of 1930s Parisian sophistication, an age when vanity cases were engineered with the same seriousness as grand complications, and when the line between haute fashion and horology was deliciously blurred. Crafted in silver with pink gold accents, this extraordinary piece was made by Boucheron. The body of the minaudière is a symphony of pierced foliate scrollwork. The openwork panel, alive with curling vegetal motifs, is punctuated by discreet ruby accents—tiny flashes of crimson that animate the composition without disturbing its balance. And then, almost mischievously, crowning the clasp sits a miniature wristwatch. Its case, hand-engraved in pink gold with floral motifs, frames a petite enamel dial whose charm lies in its refinement rather than its scale. The watch is not hidden; it is integrated. Architecturally embedded into the minaudière, it transforms the object from evening companion into portable timekeeper. Inside, the compartments reveal the practical intelligence of the Art Deco woman: mirrored panels, powder section, lipstick holder, comb, each element precisely proportioned. The original handbag, still accompanying the piece. Pieces of this calibre belong to a world where maisons like Boucheron did not merely design jewels; they curated lifestyles. In an age obsessed with wristwatches as instruments, this creation reminds us that timekeeping was once an intimate ritual, an elegant secret shared between a lady and her evening bag.