Important Collectors’ Watches, Pocket...

Geneva, Oct 14, 2007

LOT 164

?Grande Sonnerie Repetition à Quarts? D. L. Golay, au Sentier, No. 5096. Sold to Monsieur Ernest Baudry of Lille, on December 30, 1878, for 1571 Francs. Very fine and very rare, large, heavy, trip quarter repeating, two-train, 18K gold, hunting-cased, keyless clockwatch with grande and petite sonnerie striking and tandem winding. Accompanied by the original box, receipt from D.L. Golay and a rare autograph letter from D.L. Golay discussing the merits of this watch.

CHF 15,000 - 18,000

EUR 9,000 - 11,000 / USD 12,000 - 15,000

Sold: CHF 21,240

C. Four-body, "bassine et filet", solid, polished, slides for strike/silent and Grande/Petite sonnerie selection on the band. Hinged gold cuvette engraved with a monogram and the technical details. D. White enamel with radial Roman numerals, outer minute track and Arabic five-minute numerals, subsidiary seconds dial. Blued steel "spade" hands. M. Cal. 20???, rhodium-plated, "fausses côtes" decoration, two-train, tandem winding, 26 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel Breguet balance spring, striking and repeating with two hammers on two gongs activated by a trip-slide on the band. Case punched with initials ?M.F?. Diam. 55 mm.


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Grading System
Grade: AA

Very good
Case: 3-9

Good

Scratched
Movement: 3-9**

Good

Scratched

Repair required, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3-45-01

Good

HANDS Original

Notes

The present watch remarkably still retains the original receipt from D.L. Golay and a particularly interesting letter from Golay infoming the buyer, Monsieur Baudry, that the watch was given his personal attention and that he feels it would be worthy of observatory testing. The delivery of the watch and engraving of the monogram on the cuvette are discussed and the letter gives M. Baudry operating and setting instructions. It is also of note that the case maker?s initials ?M.F? within an oval are also commonly found on the cases of watches by Louis Audemars.

In Grande Sonnerie Striking, both the hours and the quarters are struck at each quarter. In Petite Sonnerie Striking, "tingtang" quarters are struck at the quarters, but the hour is only struck at the hour.