The Covered Bazaar has a magic like atmosphere even for locals. I love getting lost in its streets mesmerised by the colours and variety of its objects from the past to the present. One of my most favourite spots is the Cevahir Bedesteni which is the oldest part of the Covered Bazaar. It was once the treasury of the city during the Ottoman Era. Today, Cevahir Bedesteni holds one of the most elegant antique jewelleries in the whole bazaar.
But my most favourite of all antique objects in the heart of the Covered Bazaar are the gold enamelled female pocket watches from the 19th century with elegant details, decorated with diamonds, pearls, sapphires and rubies. These female watches were once imported from Europe for the elite Ottoman women who had the privilege of being able to ‘read the time’ as literacy was a luxury especially for women during the Ottoman Era. We also know that some of these watches were especially made for Ottoman women in Europe in an oriental style for the taste of Ottoman elites. One can easily notice the Arabic numerals on them as well as the rich and colourful floral designs.
Ottoman women’s craze for European watches in fact started in the 16th century. historian Anthony Babel traces the rise of Ottoman interest in Swiss watches and says:
‘The scales of the Levant – Constantinople, the ports of the Aegean Sea and the whole of Asia Minor – also constituted a very remarkable market for our watches. The sale of our watches was so important in the eastern Mediterranean basin that their repair and sale led to the creation of an important Geneva colony in Constantinople. Its existence lasted at least two centuries.” (https://aderwatches.com/en/blog/the-experts-eye/swiss-watchmakers-and-the-ottoman-market/)
Historians say that Breguet was the most aspired of all Swiss watches during the Ottoman Era.
Breguet female watch made for the Ottoman market in the 19th century. One can notice the crescent and the star as well as the dominant red on the watch
So if you ever get a chance to visit the covered bazaar, make sure to pay a visit to the Cevahir Bedesteni to see the rich and elegant collection of female watches from the 19th century and if you are an antique lover, make sure to purchase one!
Have a glance at the 19th century female watches used by the Ottoman female elite!
