Quelle heure est-il?
Even the French way of asking for the time is elegant... Belgium and its monarchy as we know it today only exists since 1831. So to speak of a typical Belgian style would be a bit exaggerated. It is more that Belgian culture is strongly influenced by, on one side, Holland and on the other, France. It is not that long ago that speaking French was considered chic and elegant, while Flemish (a Dutch dialect) was seen as coarse and common.
Being focused on French culture, Belgian jewellers would let themselves be influenced by the big French jewellery houses. This is the case with this ladies' bracelet watch from the Brussels' jeweller Altenloh, one of the very few jewellery suppliers to the court in Belgium. The jewel is a typical example of a high-quality ladies' watch in Retro style, where the watch is hidden behind a bejewelled hinged shutter. We browsed through our library and were surprised not to find a picture of this beauty in any book.