Importantes Montres de Collection

Geneva, Nov 13, 2011

LOT 163

?LA RUSSE II? - ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPLICATED WATCHES OF THE 19TH CENTURY THE UNIQUE JULIAN & GREGORIAN DOUBLE PERPETUAL CALENDAR, TWO TIME ZONE, MINUTEREPEATING AND CHRONOGRAPH WATCH OF 1873 Swiss, ?Grande Complication?, No. 12199, retailed by G. Aspe, Paris. Started in April 1873, finished circa 1880, sold by Aspe, Paris, to Monsieur P. Hebert on June 23, 1896 for 3240 Francs. Highly important, unique and exceptional, large, double perpetual calendar for Julian and Gregorian calendars, minute-repeating, two time zone, antimagnetic, 18K pink gold, keyless pocket watch with chronograph, central progressive 60-minute register, moon phase, lunar calendar and ?reference d?heure? world-time calculation chart. Accompanied by the original G. Aspe receipt of sale, fitted box with initials PH.

CHF 100,000 - 150,000

USD 110,000 - 165,000 / EUR 80,000 - 125,000

Sold: CHF 146,500

C. Four-body, bassine, polished, the bezel engraved around ?Fugit Irreparabile Tempus? (Time Past is Irretrievable), pushers in the band for hand-setting of each dial, the back cover decorated in relief with the Gallic cockerel, its wings outstretched and holding a banner engraved with the motto ?Nunquam Quies? (Never Rest). Hinged gold cuvette engraved with a reference d?heure - the names of 26 world cities with Paris as the meridian, each city engraved with its respective time difference from Paris. D. White enamel, two symmetrical mean time dials with radial Roman numerals, outer minute track, concentric inner date dials with hands on the same axis, one for Julian calendar, the other for Gregorian, subsidiary dials for the months of the 4-year cycle, days of the week concentric with seconds with hands on the same axis, aperture for the moon phases with lunar calendar at the edge, outer seconds and fi fths of a seconds track with Arabic fi ve-second numerals for the chronograph and central 60-minute register. Pink gold spade hands. M. 49 mm., 19 ½ ???, bridge caliber, matte gilt, 40 jewels, counterpoised and calibrated straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance with gold meantime and temperature compensation screws, special alloy antimagnetic Breguet balance spring, index regulator, repeating with two polished steel hammers on two gongs activated by a slide on the band. Dial signed Aspe à Paris, case numbered 12199. Diam. 60.5 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 2

Very good
Dial: 2-70-01

Very good

ENAMEL AND VARIOUS TYPES OF DECORATION Hairline

HANDS Original

Notes

This extraordinary and unique watch with double perpetual calendar can be considered as the successor to the famous Louis Audemars watch ?La Russe? built between 1860 and 1870. ?La Russe? has the complications of two time zones and Juilan and Gregorian calendars but is not a perpetual calendar. It is likely therefore that the present watch, started in 1873, was intended to surpass ?La Russe? in terms of sophistication and dial design. The present watch was constructed by some of the greatest watchmakers of the 19th century over a period of about 7 to 10 years. ?La Russe?, as the name suggests, was made for the Russian Imperial Court and the present watch was, at the time of conception, intended for the same market. Until 1918, the Julian calendar was still used in Russia and by the end of the 19th century it was 12/13 days behind the Gregorian calendar which had been adopted by the rest of Europe after 1582. This watch has a perpetual calendar working simultaneously for both Julian and Gregorian calendars ? an extraordinary horological rarity. This is combined with minute repeating, two time zones and a chronograph with central 60-minute register, the days of the week and the seconds hands are from the same axis as the moon phase. The cuvette is engraved with a reference d?heure world time calculation chart to allow the wearer to set the second time zone dial accurately for another city. This system allowed travelers to know exactly the time in the city they were in, and to calculate the time of the city where they were going. Despite all these complexities the dial is designed to be elegant and clear.