Important Collectors Watches, Pocket ...

Geneva, May 10, 2009

LOT 120

Early Atmos, J.L. Reutter Patent Atmos, Pendule Perpetuelle, J.L. Reutter patent, Model ?Atmos I?, No. 3752, Ref. P.O.1, Swiss, made in 1934, retailed by Charvet, Lyon. Made in the late 1920s. Very fine and very rare, early, Art Deco, chrome and black marble, "perpetual" clock wound by changes in barometric pressure with early mercury in glass expansion device.

CHF 22,000 - 32,000

USD 19,000 - 28,000 / EUR 15,000 - 21,000

C. Rectangular, chromed base, the ends curving downwards to form the feet, polished black marble base, glass shade. D. Annular matte silvered with painted radial Roman numerals. Blued steel Breguet hands. M. Cal. 30''' A, LeCoultre & Cie., chrome, vacuum chamber with rotating drum driven by a mercury in glass expansion device winding the going barrel by a blued steel spring and ratchet, lever escapement driven by annular tension pendulum, locking lever in the base below the pendulum. Dial signed ?Atmos Pendule Perpetuelle? and with the retailer?s name, case numbered, applied plaque inscribed ?Brevets J.L. Reutter S.G.D.G?. Dim. height 24 cm., width 35 cm., depth 16 cm


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good

Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense

Dial: 3-6-01

Good

Slightly oxidized

HANDS Original

Notes

The present "Atmos" clock is a very early example with its movement driven by a mercury in glass expansion device rotating a cylinder which winds the mainspring by ratchet. In the late 1920s the young engineer Jean-Leon Reutter experimented with a clock which would not need direct mechanical or electrical intervention to keep it wound, a clock powered only by Perpetual Motion. His idea of a Perpetual Motion timepiece led him to make a clock with a mechanism designed to consume the smallest possible amount of power to keep it running. His design included a device powering the movement independently, using mercury - a substance which would react to the most sensitive changes in temperature and atmospheric conditions. Reutter developed a specially designed glass tube similar to that of a thermometer for the mercury and encased it all inside a metal cylinder, known as the Bellows. The result was an ingenious new clock unlike any other, past or present, a timepiece that would run independently and continuously, so incredibly sensitive that it could be rewound by the slightest fluctuations in the atmosphere or by the slightest changes in temperature, hence the name: "Atmos Clock". The first models, such as the present clock, were called Reutter Atmos I. Later, due to dangers in handling and instability, the mercury in the Bellows powering the Atmos Clock was changed to a more stable saturated gas, ethyl chloride. Reutter's system was patented in 1928 and improved by Jaeger-LeCoultre.