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 pink and yellow gold manual wind, large size dress watch by International Watch Company, or I.W.C., of Schaffhausen. This is a very classic, handsome and timeless example of a dress watch from one of the best to do it. During this time IWC were one of the few Swiss watch producers to make larger size dress watches. This beautiful and rare watch was IWC's answer to the Patek Philippe reference 1450, "Top Hat", named for its very distinctive stepped case design.

The sand golden coloured dial is beautifully off set with the clean and classic applied solid eighteen carat gold Arabic numerals which have developed such a warm and stunning patina after over eighty years of exposure to the elements. Pair this with the black printed chemin de fer minute track on the outside edge of the dial, and you have just the right amount of detail to balance out the tank dial. The beautiful scripted logo really adds to the classic, handsome and elegant overall look of this watch. The gold set of leaf hands are clean and suit this watch perfectly. The base of the dial is stamped correctly "Swiss".

The watch is powered by a manual wind IWC caliber 87. This fabled sixteen jewel,  manually wound movement was introduced in 1931, known for its tonneau shape, which allowed it to fit into both rectangular and tonneau cases. Produced from 1931 to 1947, this highly decorated movement was a key feature of IWC's Art Deco period watches and is a coveted collector's item. Quite remarkable to find such an example, now nearly seventy years old, in this condition.

The condition of the case is excellent throughout. There are some light scratches to the outside of the case back, but nothing deep or detracting. The inside of the stunning quality hinged case is fully signed with the IWC, serial number, along with the movement serial number, dating the watch to the early 1940's.

Overall, this is a stunning, large size (measuring just over 1.5 long) dress watch in the more unusual and preferable in this two-tone gold.  The condition of which is unlikely to be topped.  If you were to own only one more 'formal', dress watch, you would be hard pressed to beat this without moving to Patek Philippe and paying three times the price.


Price $7,250.00

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Item Dimensions
Case Diameter
1 inches (2.54cm)
CAse Length
1.52 inches (3.8608cm)