"Chinoiserie" clock on display as part of the "Jazz Age" exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.

The rapid opening of China to the West in the late 19th and early 20th century led to wide consumer interest in Chinese decorative arts. "Chinoiserie" was the term coined for the imitation or evocation of Chinese motifs and techniques in Western architecture, art, deocrative arts, furniture, and home furnishings.

This clock was made by Black, Starr, & Frost, a New York City jeweler and watchmaker established as F. Marquand in 1810 by Isaac Marquand (1766-1838), a French emigré silversmith. It is the oldest continuously operating jewelry firm in the United States. In 1833, clerks Henry Ball and William Black were accepted as partners in the firm. The Marquands withdrew from the business in 1839, and Erastus O. Thompkins became a partner -- and the firm was renamed Ball, Thompkins & Black. After the death of Thompkins in 1851, the firm became known as Ball, Black & Co. The sons and grandsons of Ball and Black succeeded their forbears in the business. In 1876, designers Cortlandt Starr and Aaron V. Frost were added as partners and the business incorporated as Black, Starr & Frost in 1898.

This item was designed by Pierre Gravoin and Vladimir Makovsky. Little is known about Pierre Gravoin, except that he was a French jewelry designer who worked for Black, Starr & Frost in the 1920s and 1930s. Makovsky (1884-1966) was a Russian designer who was a recognized master of the inlay. He fled Russia during the Communist revolution, and moved to France. He worked for Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Black, Starr & Frost, among others.

This timepiece, created about 1930, consists of diamonds, emeralds, gold, mother-of-pearl, and a number of colored hard stones. It is unclear who created the movement.

1. CMAJazzAge