11,000 CHF
Bahne Bonniksen 34-Minute Karrusel Bahne Bonniksen, retailed by Fattorini & Sons, Bradford (West Yorkshire, England),"Patent Karrusel", N° 66319. The case with Chester hallmarks for 1895-6. Very fine and extremely rare, very early, large, 18K yellow gold, keyless pocket watch with center seconds and Bonniksen’s patented 34-minute karrusel regulator with free-sprung balance. Four-body, "bassine et filets", by Fattorini & Sons, mastermark (F&S), polished, the back cover with engraved foliate monogram. Hinged gold cuvette. Two-piece, white enamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minute and fifths of a second divisions. Gold poire hands. Notes With a rotation of 34 minutes, this watch is one of the very rare variants of the standard Bonniksen 52 1/2 – minute karrusel patented in 1893. It is therefore also an extremely early example of the karrusel with hallmarks for 1895 on the case. The 34-minute karrusel is one of the three rarest karrusel watches, the other two variants having rotation speeds of 12 and 6 minutes. The real success of Bonniksen’s karrusel lay in the fact that it was an amazing timekeeper. This is due to the relatively slow rotation of the platform as opposed to the usual one-minute rotation of the tourbillon.The karrusel enjoyed enormous success at the Kew observatory trials. For a full history of the karrusel watch see: Antiquorum Vox Magazine, Spring 2008, “Bahne Bonniksen’s Karrusel Watches”, by Richard Chadwick
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2011-03-27
