Important Collectors' Wristwatches, P...

New York, Dec 09, 2009

LOT 370

Audemars Piguet Canape Tourbillon Audemars Piguet, Genève, "Canapé Tourbillon," case No. E 41912, Ref 25942 PT. Produced in limited numbers circa 2001. Very fine, very rare and unusual, rectangular, platinum wristwatch with visible one-minute tourbillon regulator and a platinum Audemars Piguet buckle.

USD 40,000 - 60,000

CHF 40,000 - 60,000 / EUR 27,000 - 40,000

Sold: USD 46,800

C. Two-body, solid, polished and brushed, cylindrical and curly lugs, "bombé" crystal. D. Matte silver with applied white gold Arabic and square indexes, at 12 power reserve indication, at 6 aperture for the visible tourbillon cage under a polished steel bridge. White gold baton hands. M. Cal. 2878, rhodium-plated, fausses cotes decoration, 21 jewels, lateral lever escapement with one-minute tourbillon regulator with titanium cage and 3 equidistant polished arms, monometallic balance with screws, adjusted to heat, cold and 5 positions, self-compensating Breguet balance-spring. Dial, case and movement signed. Dim. 22 x 37 mm. Thickness 11 mm.


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 2*

Very good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 2-01

Very good

HANDS Original

Notes

What is a Tourbillon? A Tourbillon is a regulating mechanism in which the escapement of a movement is housed within a revolving carriage. It was developed in an effort to attain better precision. When a watch is in a vertical position, the force of gravity will speed the balance wheel as it moves in its downward (arc) direction and slow it as it moves upward, creating deviational errors of timekeeping. By placing the balance and escapement in a carriage that revolves 360° per minute, these errors become averaged and the timekeeping becomes constant and consequently adjustable. Created by Abraham Louis Breguet in 1795, the tourbillon is considered a difficult and complex achievement by any watch manufacturer.