• RARE Georgian MUSIC Box Antique MECHANICAL Seal Pendant 18k Gold Enamel Floral Forget Me Not Flowers Winding Works! Musical Victorian Ooak
  • RARE Georgian MUSIC Box Antique MECHANICAL Seal Pendant 18k Gold Enamel Floral Forget Me Not Flowers Winding Works! Musical Victorian Ooak
  • RARE Georgian MUSIC Box Antique MECHANICAL Seal Pendant 18k Gold Enamel Floral Forget Me Not Flowers Winding Works! Musical Victorian Ooak
  • RARE Georgian MUSIC Box Antique MECHANICAL Seal Pendant 18k Gold Enamel Floral Forget Me Not Flowers Winding Works! Musical Victorian Ooak
  • RARE Georgian MUSIC Box Antique MECHANICAL Seal Pendant 18k Gold Enamel Floral Forget Me Not Flowers Winding Works! Musical Victorian Ooak
  • RARE Georgian MUSIC Box Antique MECHANICAL Seal Pendant 18k Gold Enamel Floral Forget Me Not Flowers Winding Works! Musical Victorian Ooak
  • RARE Georgian MUSIC Box Antique MECHANICAL Seal Pendant 18k Gold Enamel Floral Forget Me Not Flowers Winding Works! Musical Victorian Ooak
  • RARE Georgian MUSIC Box Antique MECHANICAL Seal Pendant 18k Gold Enamel Floral Forget Me Not Flowers Winding Works! Musical Victorian Ooak
  • RARE Georgian MUSIC Box Antique MECHANICAL Seal Pendant 18k Gold Enamel Floral Forget Me Not Flowers Winding Works! Musical Victorian Ooak
  • RARE Georgian MUSIC Box Antique MECHANICAL Seal Pendant 18k Gold Enamel Floral Forget Me Not Flowers Winding Works! Musical Victorian Ooak
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Mouse's House Antiques

RARE Georgian MUSIC Box Antique MECHANICAL Seal Pendant 18k Gold Enamel

RARE Georgian MUSIC Box Antique MECHANICAL Seal Pendant 18k Gold Enamel

$3,464.00 USD
$3,464.00 USD
Sale Sold out
Shipping calculated at checkout.
THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT ~
Type: Pendant, Music Box, Fob, Seal
Materials: 18k Gold, Enamel
Era: Early 1800s

 

ABOUT:
Sound up (and unmute in the upper right corner of the listing video)! This is a special one - always wanted one of these : )
This little fob seal has a winding top and a little button on the side to play music. The sweetly tinkling little music box mechanism is housed at the bottom of the seal under a removable lid. It winds at the top, and there is a little lever at the base on one side. When you wind it (counterclockwise!) and then press the lever, the song plays and when it is complete, it clicks into an off position inside until you flip the lever again.
Such an intricate mechanism, amazing to hear it still function as created so many years ago.

Please reach out to me via Instagram so that I can send you videos of the piece playing. I could also send the video via email if that is desired, so you can hear how it works : ). (Note though that the microphone on the camera picks up all the sound so it plays louder on the video than it will when you hear it in person, in fact it plays quite softly, it is the sweetest thing.)

The exterior is beautifully decorated and crafted in 18k gold with enamel in robin's egg blue, cobalt blue, black, red, green and white enamel. Each side has different coloring. At the center is a little bird cage looking ball with enamel strip that spin and moves freely (it is not part of the winding as it winds from the top)

The piece is from the Georgian to Victorian era, I think these are typically Swiss made. There is a hallmark on the top but I could not identify it. I also could not identify the song, it plays softly and seems to be more of a tinkling of many notes than something you could sing along to.

This intricate piece is highly collectible, with examples seen in museums including the Victorian & Albert Museum. They are referred to as seals, although as far as I am aware they were not typically used as a seal but worn on a watch chain as a fob or on a separate chain as a piece of jewelry.

Please see important notes below.

MEASUREMENTS:
41mm top to bottom, the base is 29 by 24mm. It weighs a very sturdy 21 grams.

IMPORTANT CONDITION NOTES:
Please note that all my pieces are pre-owned and in estate condition.
There is some loss to the enamel. A few shallow impressions, no holes or punctures. Especially to one vertical edge and to the underside lid and a few areas on the base it has a slightly rippled appearance here or there, made more notable by the mirrored finish in those areas. These things can all be seen in the photos. Lovely patina and coloring and functions as intended.

I would avoid taking off and putting on the lid repetitively as we had to carefully line it up to click in place and if one were to try and force it, you could bend the gold rim. It is secure and in place now, and actually has little screw holes should you desire to take it to a watch place and have them carefully insert tiny screws to secure the lid permanently.

One other IMPORTANT note:
This is a very intricate piece with all the little gears and parts that are over 150 years old. This highly collectible, museum worthy piece understandably needs a very gentle, even experienced hand. I have played it without issue at least a dozen times without a glitch and can send you plenty of videos but once it is shipped it is out of my hands / not returnable.
I do not mean to sound grumpy, but as an example, I have had people buy antique pocket watches from me in perfect working order, and had an inexperienced buyer open them incorrectly, pop out the crystals, overwind and jam them by handling them too roughly, and then say they do not work and want a return so I just want to make very clear in advance that the piece of course needs a gentle hand. I would imagine that if one were to crank on it or overwind it, it could be irreparably broken and lose its value so this is more of a collector piece for display or special occasions than for heavy wear in a neckstack where it might bang around. Thank you for understanding!

I have many more antique pieces listed so please see my other items and thanks for stopping by!

SOCIAL:
Please feel free watch @mouseshouseantiques on insta for inventory drops, sneak peaks and previews!

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