Important Watches, Pocket Watches and...

Noga Hilton Hotel, Nov 13, 2005

LOT 188

?Early Balance Spring? Claude Raillard a Paris. Made circa 1685. Very fine, silver, early balance spring pendant watch with alarm and single hand and without fusee.

C. Two-body, ?bassine? polished split bezel, polished back, the band finely pierced and engraved with inhabited scrolling foliage, a pair of engraved dolphins flanking the pendant, turned pendant with loose ring bow. D. Silver, champlevé, radial Roman numerals and lozenge half-hour markers, inner quarter hour ring, central alarm disc with radial Arabic numerals, fixed steel tulip pointer. Blued steel hand. M. 37 mm., hinged gilt-brass full plate with turned vase pillars, fixed spring barrel, short four-wheel train set on the periphery, verge escapement, plain threearm steel balance with rack and pinion regulator, early balance spring, gilt-brass balance cock pierced and engraved in three separated openwork sectors allowing the balance spring to be seen, small irregular foot secured by a screw, delicate blued-steel spring and click for the ratchet wheel set-up. Steel alarm train with foliate pierced gilt brass spring barrel, sounding on a bell mounted in the back of the case. Movement signed. Diam. 44 mm.