The watch employs a number of features assuring the most accurate timekeeping; the tourbillon regulator, averaging error, the free-sprung double overcoiled balance spring which assures superior isochronism, the reverse fusee, already used by Mudge, lessening friction on the center wheel pinion. The watch comes from a small series of precision tourbillons that the Smith Co. destined for the Kew Observatory Contests between 1904 and 1909. The watch is described and illustrated in "Le Tourbillon" bReinhard Meis, Editions de l'Amateur, Paris, 1990, p. 209.The firm of Nicole Nielsen (Adolph Nicole and Sophus Emile Nielsen) was considered to be England's foremost specialist in complicated watches.Albert H. Potter (1836-1908).Albert H. Potter, a pioneer of precision watchmaking in USA and Switzerland, was born in Mechanicville, upstate New York. He was christened Arnold, but later changed his name to Albert Henry. At 16 he was apprenticed to the watchmaking firm Wood and Foley in Albany, NY. After three years he went to New York City where he opened a repair shop at 19 John St. and later moved to 84 Nassau St., where he started to design and manu-facture watches. Although production was limited to no more than 30 wathes, all were of very high quality. They were also highly priced for the period, costing from about $200 to over $300, while most good quality watches at the time cost about $50. He used lever or pivoted detent escapements, sometimes with a fusee, sometimes with going barrels. Although his business was doing well, in 1861 he moved to Havana, opening a small watchmaking shop, which was also quite prosperous. In 1866 he returned to the States and opened a shop in Williamsburg. It was at that timehat his ideas on design began to materialize; he patented an interesting escapement on January 21, 1868, and was apparently getting ready to start a larger scale operation. That same year he moved to Minneapolis where he remained until 1870, and subsequently moved to Chicago. In Chicago, along with his brother William, he opened a firm "Potter Brothers", which was a retail and manufacturing business. The partnership lasted only until 1875 but for many years was continued by William. During the prtnership, Albert must have been working on further improvement of his ideas, which materialized in the form of a new patent for a new compensation balance, patented on October 11, 1875. During that time, he decided to leave his country and moved to Geneva, where he produced the famous Potter watch based on the ideas and designs on which he had worked for about 15 years. In Geneva, where his horological genius was much appreciated by the local clientele, he enjoyed a rewarding life at 7 Rue du Mnt-Blanc (almost across the street from where Antiquorum is today). His mechanical skills with in depth understanding of physics excelled to the point that it was not long before Genevan watchmakers recognized his talent. This was expressed in the following story by Paul Berner, head of the Horological School in La Chaux de Fonds.Berner, who met Major Chamberlain in 1923, told him that it was an honor for Geneva to have such an artist settled there. He also told him an amusing story about when he met the already famous American of whom "glowing tales were told". To satisfy his curiosity, Berner had taken two of his chronometer detent escapements, masterpieces he had made during his apprenticeship with Calme, an escapement maker for Ulysse Nardin, and traveled to Geneva. He wanted to meet the famous American watchmaker anshow him that he too could produce good pieces. He found a modest man, who showed him his shop, his tools and his watches. Berner admitted that having been so well received "I did not take my detents out of their hiding". Cottet, an automaton maker, told Chamberlain that "it was the ambition of nearly every exceptional artist to work for Potter and that he had a kindly way of spurring men on to improve their work". As one of the best, he was chosen as a member of the "Commission de Surveillancede l'Ecole d'Horlogerie", along with Meylan, Ekegren, Jurgensen, and others.His watches were not only excellent machines, superbly finished, they were also superior timekeepers. Potter developed about a dozen escapements, improved the going barrel with a safety design, made a superior pivoted detent and a number of other innovations, some patented, some not. According to one of his workmen, A. Pavid, who became an eminent adjuster himself, Potter not only made improvements in his watches, but also in the tools he used. For instance he employed a ruby cutter for his pinins, which formed the leaves, and polished them at the same time. His watches were not cheap, in fact they were very expensive. For example, a lever escapement cost $250, a five-minute repeater $300, a minute-repeater $400, which with chronograph cost $500, and a minute repeater with perpetual calendar was priced at $625. However, around 1886, Potter designed a reliable but inexpensive watch, "the best watch $4.00 could buy".The manufacturing was entrusted to J. J. Badollet, who had a factory on the outskirts of Geneva, in Charmilles, hence the watch was named Charmilles. Production lasted from the early 1890's until 1895. In 1892, Robert Ingersoll's one-dollar watch revolutionized the inexpensive watch market and destroyed one of Potter's dreams.Another of his dreams from around the same period was that of building a "horseless carriage". This was a joint venture with his American partner Burger. Unfortunately it failed since the heating system did not function as expected.In about 1890 Potter began having spinal problems, a typical watchmaker's disease and, a few years later, was left partially paralyzed. He died in 1908, leaving the carriage to Arthur King, who bequeathed it to Fazy, a federal judge. Although the whereabouts of the carriage are unknown, the approximately 100 watches that have survived give a strong testimony of his horological genius and that he was among the very best in the horological world of his time.Bibliography:"It's About Time", by Paul M. Chamberlain, London, 1978."Albert H. Potter & Co.", by Helmutt Steffen, Klassik Uhren, No.5/2001.