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 ladies automatic eighteen carat white gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust reference 6917 model. This is an exceptionally rare watch to find in all white gold, with the original bracelet, not to mention the real stone lapis dial.  The dial, with its silver printed logo, features the anomaly of being stamped "T Swiss T".  This meant the dial had Tritium luminous markers applied to the hour markers.  However, being a stone dial, it features no luminous material either on the dial, or on the clean, white gold baton handset.  This is not unusual, as many of the early stone dials, both for this size and the largers sizes, had the "T Swiss T" stamping at the six o'clock position.  It is actually a quirk which quite interesting to the see.

The watch is powered by a Rolex, Swiss made, twenty eight jewel automatic calibre 2130 movement that powered the majority of all Rolex ladies models since its launch in 1970.  What made this movement all the more impressive is that an automatic movement launched with a forty two hour power reserve was able to be just twenty millimeter across and just over five millimeters thick.  Not only that, but due to its accuracy it was sent off to the Swiss regulating authority and obtained COSC certification for accuracy.  This is why you find the text "Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified" also stamped on the lower portion of the dial.

This case, being the earlier version, has the spring bar holes exposed from the side; a 'holes' case.  This was updated around the late 1980's, early 1990's to the ladies watches where the holes were filled. The watch is fitted to its original Rolex Jubilee solid eighteen carat white gold bracelet.  Unlike its stainless steel, or two tone counterpart, this solid white gold version is very different in its construction.  This is hard to see from the front. But, when viewed from the side it has very beautifully, open work, oval shaped links which almost appear to have two eyes either side, where the bracelet links are pinned to each other.  The deployant buckle is fully signed with the Rolex trademarks, "750" for eighteen carat gold, and the Helvetia Swiss control mark for gold.

The watch was made circa 1974 with serial number 3711XXX. The watch is in original condition, quite possibly unpolished, with wear commensurate with age, with nothing to detract.  This really is a rare opportunity to own a very interesting and beautifully understated piece of Rolex history.  With the appearance of being a classic stainless steel version, this watch can fly under the radar of most eyes, being noticed by only the most discerning eye.  The watch comes with a Foundwell one year warranty against mechanical failure.


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Item Dimensions
Watch Case
1.024 inches (2.60096cm)