23,000 CHF
Wolf Tooth Train Lepine, Invenit et fecit, No. 5627, circa 1788. Very fine and extremely rare 18K gold and enamel, á toc half-quarter repeating watch with single hammer and wolf teeth on both wheel trains. Double-body, of Lépine type by master casemaker Guil-laume Mermillod, No. 745, polished, concealed hinge, fixed front bezel. Gilt brass hinged cuvette signed "Lépine horloger du Roy à Paris". White enamel with Arabic numerals and outer Arabic date ring. Gold skeleton "fleur-de-lis" hands. 45 mm (20’’’), gilt brass, early Lépine caliber with free-standing barrel, wolf teeth on all wheels, virgule escapement with brass escape wheel, plain brass three-arm balance with each arm curved in the center, flat balance spring, Lépine repetition system with LeRoy’s anchor governor and with the wolf-tooth train, repeating by single polished hammer on the movement adapter ring by depressing the pendant. Signed on the dial and the cuvette.Diam. 51 mm. Notes This watch features most of Lepine’s horological inventions: In 1763 he invented a new type of repeating mechanism in which the hour and quarter racks were placed directly on the winding arbor. The new design was a great improvement, eliminating the fragile winding chain. It also gave the system better stability, decreased friction, saved room and simplified the mechanism. This was a great improvement in repeating watches. The 1763 Mémoir of the Académie des Sciences, in the chapter "Machines ou inventions approuvées par l’A
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2004-04-24
