Important Collectors Wristwatches, Po...

Geneva, Nov 14, 2009

LOT 178

White Gold Primo 4 ? Juke Box - No. 8 Mermod Freres, Sainte-Croix, ?Primo 4?, No. 8, Ref. 56K-PO.101. Made in a limited edition of 50 pieces in white gold in 2007. Extremely fine and innovative, large, tonneau-shaped, skeletonized, four-tune on four discs musical box, self-winding, 18K white gold wristwatch with Mermod Freres buckle. Accompanied by the original Mermod Freres polished wooden musical box playing Waltz No. 2 by Shostakovitch, and booklet.

CHF 50,000 - 70,000

USD 50,000 - 70,000 / EUR 35,000 - 47,000

Sold: CHF 57,600

C. Three-body, massive, tonneau-shaped, polished and brushed, hooded lugs, double back with vent holes for the sound and 12 screws, button at 10 for hand-setting, at 8 for music activation, bidirectional winding crown for winding musical and going trains, unique design acoustic sapphire crystal. D. Annular white with five-line musical stave and rest hour indexes, Arabic quarter-hour numerals, red arrow at 6 o?clock to indicate the playing disc, aperture displaying the four rotating musical discs and skeletonized blued steel disc supports. Hand-polished white gold skeleton hands. M. Hand-finished special calibre MF-101, rhodium plated with oeil-de-perdrix decoration, 36 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, high frequency monometallic balance beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour, self-compensating flat balance spring, 22K gold rotor with blued Mermod bird logo. Musical movement: Playing four tunes on four separate musical pinned discs, fixed on a blued steel disc support turning on its axis to move the requested disc to the playing position, blued steel comb with tuned teeth. Dial, case and movement signed. Dim. 57 x 45.5 mm. Thickness 13.5 mm. Property of an Asian Gentleman


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Case: 1

As new
Movement: 1

As new
Dial: 1-01

As new

HANDS Original

Notes

Mermod Freres The historic Mermod Frères brand was revived in Sainte-Croix in 2007. The company was originally founded in 1816 by the four sons of Louis Mermod. During the 19th century the firm became very famous and successful, particularly in central and Eastern Europe. The business extended to making mechanical music, and producing outstanding pieces. In 1929, the economic depression caused the business to close. Mermod Freres took part in many Universal Exhibitions and won the astounding number of 27 gold medals.
The Primo 4 watch is the only mechanical watch with a musical function that provides four tunes on four separate musical discs. The development of this complex movement required four years of research, analysis and tests with acoustic and resonance constraints. The watch consists of 577 separate parts, manufactured and assembled by hand. The music transmission also goes through the sapphire crystal of the case. This crystal required 12 months of research and tests to obtain optimal acoustics. There are contact points between the crystal and the musical module of the movement so that it optimizes musical vibrations. This edition was comprises 50 pieces in yellow gold; 50 in pink gold and 50 in white gold.
The Tunes of the Primo 4 Musical Movement W.A. Mozart ? The Magic Flute (Glockenspiel) ; J. Pachelbel ? Canon ; J. Brahms ? Hungarian Dance No. 1 ; Vivaldi ? The Four Seasons (Spring)