Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces

Geneva, Mar 17, 2013

LOT 371

J.L. REUTTER PATENT ATMOS ? ROSEWOOD ? THE LAST REUTTER PATENT CLOCK EVER MADE Atmos, ?Pendule Perpetuelle?, J. L. Reutter patent, No. 7002, French. Made circa 1934. Very fine and very rare, early, Art Deco, rosewood and chrome, ?perpetual? clock wound by changes in barometric pressure with early mercury in glass expansion device.

CHF 4,000 - 6,000

USD 4,500 - 6,500 / EUR 3,000 - 5,000

Sold: CHF 6,250

C. Rectangular, rosewood grained body, chromed inclined base, chromed aperture to view the pendulum, chromed bezel. D. Matte silvered with radial Art Deco Arabic numerals. Black cubiste hands. M. 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 torsion pendulum, locking lever in the base below the pendulum. Dial signed. DIAM. HEIGHT 25 cm., WIDTH 19.5 cm., DEPTH 12 cm.


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Grading System
Grade: AA

Very good
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3-10-01

Good

Patinated

HANDS Original

Notes

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 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, hence the name: ?Atmos Clock.? These first models used the mercury in glass expansion device. 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 to later be sold and improved by Jaeger-LeCoultre. The ?perpetual? movement is defined as ?a movement which continues to function indefinitely without any exterior source of energy
The present clock is the last ever made to the J.L. Reutter patent.