1

A Day
Observed

A story presented by

Scene 1:
‘Morning’

It was a bright cold day with glassy surfaces that looked hard.
Into the square frame he stood as if in a dream.

What emerged was precisely what he expected to find: a reflection of memory images. Contemplating his face in the photo frame he waited.

1960s lucite and chrome 3 image photo frame

By the steady hands of his watch, he listened to time. Every day for the past sixteen days he saw her. Silver lingered in the crease of
an open book.

Rolex burlwood dial, Jubilee bracelet Miniature
oar English university trophy, sterling silver.

So absorbed in his thoughts
he hardly saw the platinum catch-all, the key, or the revelation locked inside those lapis lazuli cufflinks tossed unmistakably in cold blue.

Hans Hanson catch-all. Mid-century, Danish sterling silver. Stirrup money clip, by Hermès. Padlock keyring, sterling silver " Tie bar-slide " Round lapis lazuli cufflinks" Square cufflinks, two tone rose and yellow gold, diamond."

Only by whirling on his heel could he hope to comprehend
the panorama.

Shoe horn, circa 1930. American sterling silver
Scene 2:
‘Noon’

He remained.Trapped in that enormous room,
unmistakably familiar in feeling yet so peculiar.

Above the mantle was
displayed an Austrian hound
of impeccable integrity.

Hagenauer sculpture, 1930

His gaze fell on the letter opener. By accident she had learnt more about his life from the contents of that letter than anywhere.

Dunhill letter opener with lighter top, circa 1950

Cleopatra’s eye reflected
the sun. Through the hypnotism
of precious metals there
emerged a dark slender shadow.

Cleopatra’s eye magnifying glass. Mid-century, gold plated
Hermès weighted pen. Silver plated.

A lighter presented itself, smooth to the touch
it gave the impression of
intelligent company.

Table lighter St Dupont, circa 1960. Gold plate
Scene 3:
‘Evening’

All this time light was receding from the room.

“I should explain why I spend so much time here”, said the silhouette. Leaves moved like shadows across her eyes.

Hermès rope bottle opener. Plated silver.

It’s not too late to turn back. Time moved with faint sounds.

Venini hourglass. Hand-blown lurid Murano glass.

He unscrewed the telescopic cup, rolled and remained still. Black eyes on the dice prophesied a new cycle.

Telescopic cup, J. E. Cauldwell. Gold plated. Dice,
Cartier for America. Vitreous enamel glass, silver

Staring down at the varnished surface her mouth worried him while her eyes examined the gold cufflink.

Audemar Piguet evening watch. gold plated, Roman dial, alligator strap
Scene 4:
‘Night’

Everything went crashing black.

Pale graceful hands placed
the gold stud box delicately
on the table.

Men’s Edwardian jewellery box, 1910. Gold plated.
Mid-century British cigar ashtray. Sterling silver and crystal.

He lit a match to make sure the watch had really stopped. Smoke lingered from its vesta case.

Realist wrapped tobacco leaf march vesta. Silver.

As the travel clock neared
one the figure vanished into dappled shadows.

Art Deco Jaeger LeCoultre travel clock.
Gold and silver plated. Retailed by Aspray.

On the newly varnished table two bronze shot cups sat alive like in a dream.

Tooth shot cup by Foundwell. Bronze and silver plated.
Set of 4, 3 silver 1 gold. Heath & Midleton champagne decanters circa 1900.
Sterling silver and glass.
The End

‘A DAY OBSERVED’
A story by FOUNDWELL
Photography Matthieu Lavanchy, creative direction OK-RM,
notes by Kate O’Brien and objects selected by Alan Bedwell

‘A DAY OBSERVED’
A story by FOUNDWELL
Photography Matthieu Lavanchy,
creative direction OK-RM
notes by Kate O’Brien
and objects selected by Alan Bedwell

Early and Rare Sterling Silver Gorham Martini Mixing Bucket

Golf Cocktail Shaker
and Matching Golf Bag Cup

Sterling Silver Woven Bottle Coaster

Foundwell

A SELECTION OF ITEMS BY THE PRODUCER OF
CRAFTED GOODS & PURVEYOR OF ANTIQUE WATCHES,
JEWELLERY & OTHER SUCH OBJECTS

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A solid eighteen carat yellow gold Cartier Vendome model with mechanical movement. This rare, larger size was the men's version when it was launched in the 1980's, coming in at thirty three millimeters, as opposed to the smaller twenty four millimeters. This model was part of a massive Cartier push to further develop the watch line after the great success of re-launching the Santos in 1979. The company, under the leadership of Robert Hocq, began to grow in new, broader directions, which also saw the launch of the "le must" range, which proved a phenomenal success for the brand, and marked the company's attempt to not only compete with what was coming in from Japan, but also stay relevant to an evolving and changing younger market. To say this was a success was an understatement with sales reaching over $1 billion for the group in 1988.

This model is often confused with the slightly more squat shaped, but similar looking "Ellipse", this shape was known as the "Vendome". This is confusion as there is another "Vendome" in the line which has a very recognisable lug design, launched in 1933. This launch came with a variety of other similar looking designs such as; Gondole, Tank Square and Square.

The watch retains all the details that Cartier lovers flock to the brand for; the Roman numeral dial with a chemin de fer minute track, sword blued steel hands and a blue sapphire set winding crown. This being a more desirable earlier version features the "Paris" stamp at base of the six o'clock position.

The watch is powered by a manually wound, ETA 2512 caliber mechanical movement. This seventeen jewel movement features incabloc shock protection and is a fairly rudimentary, but reliable, movement that powered the vast number of Cartier watches from the mid 1970’s through to the early 1980’s.

The original, fully signed, solid eighteen carat yellow gold Cartier deployant buckle is also present with the watch. The case back and interior is fully signed, including the. unique Cartier reference stamp to the case back. The watch is presented in superb original condition. It has never been polished and remains in excellent condition throughout with no signs of obvious wear. Often, unfortunately, these dial can become crazed or cracked. This is not the case here. The glossy white dial is in superb condition. Overall, a superb example of a fairly unusual, larger sized, watch case. This is a very unusual and recognizable case shape, but one that still remains chic and refined.


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Item Dimensions
Case Width
1.3 inches (3.302cm)