542,500 CHF
Striking and Repeating Tourbillon Attributed to Victorin Piguet, Swiss, No. 55814, carriage by Albert Pellaton-Favre, made for Tchétounoff Frères, Moscow, circa 1900. Exceptionally rare and very important 18K gold keyless double-train grande et petite sonnerie clockwatch with minute-repeating and one-minute tourbillon regulator pocket chronometer. Three-body, solid, "bassine", polished, glazed on both sides, switch bolt at 3 for grande/petite sonnerie, another at 10 for striking/silent. White enamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minute divisions, subsidiary sunk seconds. Blued steel "spade" hands. Notes Tourbillon regulators fitted to sonnerie movements are exceptionally rare. Some were made by icole ielsen for important English retailers such as Player or Benson; others are Swiss, made in the Vallée de Joux. One of these was made by Patek Philippe with a Victorin Piguet ebauche with trip minute-repeating and tourbillon very similar to the present watch. This was the famous "Packard" watch, ordered from Patek Philippe by James Ward Packard, the automobile manufacturer. R. Meiss confirms that he movement was made by Victorin Piguet and the carriage by James Pellaton see "Le Tourbillon", p. 177. Also attributable to Victorin Piguet, the present watch incorporates a grande et petite sonnerie clockwatch and minute repeating. It implements Henri Golay's 1859 invention for striking watches with a minute-repeating mechanism, and in addition employs the tandem winding
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2003-06-14
