108,000 CHF
M(aurice) D(itisheim), Swiss, No. 596, made for the Indian market, circa 1890.Spectacular and rare 18K gold and enamel diamond-set, hunting-cased, astronomical, minute-repeating pocket chronometer with full calendar, phases of the moon and chronograph. Four-body, massive, "bassine", lavishly decorated with translucent rose and green enamel rose patterns set with diamonds, band in translucent red enamel forming a repeated pattern, gold hinged cuvette over gold bezel glazed for viewing the movement. White enamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minute track, outermost chronograph track divided into fifths, five-minute/seconds Arabic markers, four subsidiary sunk dials for days of the week, date, months, and subsidiary seconds concentric withphases of the moon aperture. Notes Maurice Ditisheim (d.1895)In 1858 he founded a company in La Chaux-de-Fonds called Ditisheim Frères. An advertisement in the "Almanach des Horlogers" (St. Imier 1888) described the firm as a "Fabrique d'Horlogerie", which bought and sold. Maurice Ditisheim exhibited watches at the 1893 Columbian World Exhibition in Chicago. He had an impressive reputation for complicated timepieces and his work was in great demand in both China and India. In 1894, the Maurice Ditisheim and Ditisheim Frères, Fabrique Vulcain combined forcs, at which time the name became "Maurice Ditisheim, Fabrique Vulcain".
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2003-04-12
