Important Collectors’ Wristwatches, P...

Geneva, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Du Rhône, Oct 15, 2006

LOT 322

"Five-Minute Repeating, Perpetual Calendar" Tiffany & Co., Geneva, No. 14600. Made circa 1900. Very fine and extremely rare, small, five-minute repeating 18K gold keyless pocket watch with perpetual calendar without month indication.

CHF 27,000 - 35,000

EUR 17,000 - 22,000 / USD 22,000 - 28,000

C. Four-body, "bassine", polished, glazed goldrimmed cuvette. D. White enamel with unusual Arabic numerals over the minute track, subsidiary dials in red for the date, days of the week and seconds. Blued steel "spade" hands. M. 35 mm., 16''', rhodium-plated, "fausses cotes" decoration, 29 jewels, counterpoised straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel Breguet balance spring, swan-neck micrometer regulator, repeating on gongs activated by a slide on the band. Dial and movement signed. Diam. 42 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3-43-01

Good

HANDS Original

Notes

The present watch, due to its small size, has a very unusual dial in which the numerals are placed over the minute track to allow space for the subsidiary dials. The perpetual calendar is of a very unusual and rare type, the dial only showing the days of the week and the date with no month indication. In effect, this means that the calendar must be set by a watchmaker and then kept going so that the calendar stays in sequence. Tiffany, Genève The New York firm, founded in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany opened a branch in Geneva in 1872 on the site of the actual hotel Cornarvin. The aim was to have watch movements made entirely under one roof but the Geneva workers were not accustomed to working in this way and the branch, which specialized in complicated and very high quality horological pieces ceased operations in 1879. Patek Philippe soon took over the management and the operations of the Tiffany factory in Geneva. Patek Philippe continued then to supply Tiffany with watches (ususally marked on the dial "Tiffany & Co.")