Provenance: Made to the order of Count Nicholas Nostitz of Russia, in 1876, passed on at his death in 1896 to his brother, General Count Nostitz, who sold the watch in the sanie year to Dr. Antonio Augusto de Carvalho Monteiro of Portugal. Returned by Carvalho Monteiro to L.Leroy in Paris for additional decorative elements to be added to the case. Retained in the collection of Dr. Carvalho Monteiro of Portugal until 1920 when it was acquired by Antonio Ramos Pinto of Portugal, and remained in the same family until sold by Sotheby' s, Geneva. Exhibited: L'Exposition Universelle de Paris, 1878. Literature: Droz, Flores, Leroy No.1. La Montre La Plus Compliquée Du Monde. Horological Journal, 1878, Report on the Universal Exhibition in Paris, 1878. Notes: Case: The book on Leray No.1 contains an Avant- Propos written by the firm of Leroy, in which the history of this watch is recorded. The relevant passage confirms that Carvalho IVlonteiro, having acquired the watch, and being impressed with its uniqueness, requested Leroy to enhance the decoration of the case, the work being carried out in Paris, and inspired by the designs of the celebrated Renaissance artist Etienne Delosne. Western Europe, notably France and England were fully in the grip of a revival of interest in all things Gothic and Renaissance, and the choice of style was therefore most appropriate. The goldsmith chosen to execute the work was J. Nodiot, a pupil of Claudius Marioton, who was himself a sculptor and chaser of great repute and a former winner of the Concours Willemsens in 1876 and the Concours Crozatier in 1879. According to H.Vever, writing in La Bijouterie Française XIX i' siècle, Marioton excelled in repoussé work in the Renaissance style. The back panel of the case is chased in dramatic high relief with a considerable degree of undercutting, such that the figures appear to be almost free-standing. The subject matter comprises intricate Renaissance-style strapwork, foliage, drapery and swaps, with grotesques surrounding a reclining naked figure of Chronos and flanked by partially draped figures of the Fates: Lachesis, Atrophos and Chlotos, each holding a skein of wool. The initial M (for Monteiro) is subtly worked into the decoration at the top below a female mask. Equally interesting is the pendant, executed in the form of a double-sided visored helmet with an enamelled Count's crown forming the winding crown. As Carvalho Monteiro was to commission the No. 1 from Leroy following his purchase of this watch, the design of the crown would appear to be to his order. However, he did not himself have a title, and it therefore seems unlikely that he would have ordered a watch with a crown that had an heraldic significance. Two alternatives seem to be viable; on the one hand, the Count's crown could well have been executed for the original purchaser, Count Nostitz, and retained by Monteiro, the design being sufficiently interesting for him to request the same for the No.1, or, perhaps more likely, the shape was adopted from the start by Leroy, in view of their longterm association with the Royal family of France, and the double meaning that can be interpreted from the name. The company's records from the period, although very complete, do not pive a precise explanation. In any case, the reasoning is of little importance, but in the interests of historical accuracy, it seems most likely that the crown vvas not altered in 1896, when the outstanding chased back panel was fitted. Dials: Again the Avant-Propos for Leror/ Nol can be quoted as a source of reference for the indications shown on the dials of this watch, although it appears that the firm vas less than generous about its own achievements. According to their own interpretation the complications were as follows: 1. The day. 2. The date 3. The months of the bissextile years. 4. The phase and age of the moon. 5. hldependent fly-back centre-seconds chronograph. 6. Fly-back hour recorder. 7. Fly-back minute recorder. 8. Flying 1 /5th.seconds hand. 9. Repeating of the Hours, Quarters and Minutes. 10. The Longitudes of the principal cities in Europe and their time to the nearest minute. 11. The Longitudes of the principle cities of Europe and America, on an alternative ring (that is no longer with the watch). The description does not include two additional features that appear on the watch. These are: 12. A Thermometer in degrees centigrade. 13. An additional centre-seconds hand on the back dial, connected to the front, and revolving anti-clockwise. There is evidence to support the idea that Monteiro had a replacement Longitude ring made for the watch, at the same time as the decoration of the case was enhanced, as there are 9 towns shown which are in Portugal. It seems most unlikely that Count Nostitz would have ordered the \-vatch with such a bics to\vards Western Europe. Movement: The standard of workmanship throughout this watch is outstanding, and the degree of complication involved quite exceptional, particularly in view of the date when it was made. There are in excess of 500 pieces used in its construction. It is clear that every effort has been made to retain a high level of timekeeping accuracy, and to this end, all the seconds and chronograph functions are operated from the second barrel. The following options are available: 1. The left hand time dial runs continuously, giving the time in hours and minutes, and also driving the Local time dial on the back of the watch, and the calendar functions. 2. Releasing a small detent on the edge of the case at 7 o'clock starts the 'continuous' centre-seconds hand and the subsidiary flying 1 /5th.seconds driven by the independent seconds train. 3. Depressing the chronograph button on the band of the case at 10 o'clock starts the fly-back centre-seconds chronograph, with the second chapter-ring at 3 o'clock on the dial recording the hours and minutes. The second press stops the chronograph, and the third returns all 3 hands to zero. This function is also operated from the independent train. If started from 12 o'clock exactly, the independent chronograph can be used as the primary time zone dial, with the principal hands being used to mark a second time zone and a third may he shown on the back if required. 4. Stopping the 'continuous' centre-seconds will stop the chronograph train, allowing for the recording of events with intermission periods. Two detents at 11 and 2 o'clock on the band of the case can he engaged to provide for alternative conventions for hand-setting; the back of the case must be open for the operation to be performed, and closing the back disengages the mechanism, and locks all the functions with the exception of the continuous seconds stop/start. On the left, the detent sets the main time and the hands on the reverse. On the right, the latitude pointer and the reverse hands only are set. It is clear that the ability to adjust the rear dial seperately with the latitude pointer enables the time to be shown for any selected place, or alternatively, if the time difference is known, then the latitude can be ascertained. It is in effect a form of circular calculator. Historical: Dr. Antonio Augusta de Carvalho Monteiro ?,vas a resident of Lisbon, Portugal, and known as a man, not only of extraordinary wealth, but also as a scholar and a collector. His house in Alecrim Street vas described as a veritable museum, with its magnificent library and collection of shells, butterflies, furniture and silver, as well as watches. He died in Sintra on 25 October 1920. According to Leroy, it ?,vas as a result of his purchasing this watch that Monteiro commissioned the firm to commence work on the No.1. (illustrated here), in 1897 which was to be exhibited at the. Exposition universelle, Paris, 1900, and became the most complicated watch ever made up to that date. Upon its final completion in 1901, it vas delivered to Monteiro by the King of Portugal. This watch must he included amongst that small group of ultra-complicated timepieces that have been created over the years to demonstrate the highest level of skills achievable in the art of watchmaking. Usually they have been executed to the order of a particular client, as evinced by A.L. Breguet's Marie-Antoinette perpetuelle, the present watch commissioned initially by Count Nostitz, and its successor, the No.l for Monteiro. Such masterpieces were unsurpassed in their complexity until the 1930's when Patek Philippe produced their famous watch for Henry Graves, and subsequently, more than 100 years later, the calibre 89, which now holds the title of the World's Most Complicated Watch.