Important Watches, Collector's Wristw...

The Ritz-carlton Hotel, Hong-kong, Jun 08, 2002

LOT 69

Paul Buhré, Pétersbourg, circa 1850.Extremely fine and important 18K gold and enamel, diamond-set, hunting-cased, double-train, independent central dead-seconds quarter-repeating pocket chronometer with fusee, spherical balance spring, pivoted detent escapement and triple calendar.

HKD 172,000 - 211,000

EUR 25,000 - 30,000 / USD 22,000 - 27,000

Sold: HKD 195,500

C. Four-body, massive, both covers similarly decorated with elaborate floral, foliate and scrolling pattern, band engraved with scrolling, diamond-set pendant, engraved bow, gold hinged cuvette decorated with champlevé black enamel fern pattern, bolt at the band at 5 o'clock to activate the independent dead-seconds.D. White enamel, Roman numerals, outer minute/dead-seconds divisions, four subsidiary sunk dials for days of the week, date, months and seconds. Blued steel "fleur-de-lis" hands. M. By Moulinié, Genève, 50 mm. (22'''), frosted gilt, bridge caliber, fusee and chain, 45 jewels, pivoted detent escapement with small steel return spring, gold escape wheel, triangular locking jewel, cut bimetallic compensation balance with gold mean and temperature screws, the center part sunk to give more room for thblued steel balance spring which is free-sprung and spherical with terminal curves, going barrel for the independent seconds train acting on the going train via gold dart meshing with the escape wheel pinion.Signed Paul Buhré on the cuvette and Moulinié on the pillar plate under the dial.Diam. 61 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3 - 6 - 12 - 01

Notes

Paul BuhréIn 1815, Paul Leopold Buhré opened a small shop in St. Petersburg, where a good-sized colony of Swiss watchmakers was established, attracted by Catherine II's efforts to start a watch and clock factory there. Thus, along with the firms of Courvoisier & Cie. and Tissot, Paul Buhré intro-duced good horology to Eastern Europe. In order to ensure their supply, the Buhrés founded a facto-ry in Le Locle later in 1815. Paul Buhré's son, also named Paul, took over the Russian business and traveled to Swtzerland to select watches, eventually taking over the factory in Le Locle. The firm obtained the title of official purveyor to the Imperial Court, and expanded rapidly.From 1880 on, it was managed by Paul Girard-Gabus (1835-1902), whose brother-in-law George Pfund also worked with the firm. That same year, the company name was changed to PAUL GIRARD-GABUS, and the firm still did consi-derable trade with Russia. Buhré watches were used on the Russian railways and were given by the Russian government as awards. These award watches were called "Russia" watches and had a half-length Figure of the Tsar on the dial.The firm won a Silver Medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1889, a Gold Medal at the Swiss National Exhibition in Geneva in 1896, and a Gold Medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1900. Toward 1900, the firm had stores in St. Petersburg and Moscow. When Paul Girard-Gabus died in 1902, the company name became PAUL BUHRE once again. The company registered its name in 1909, for the manufacture of watches and watch parts and for the trademark name "Russia", and again in 1912.In 1911 the company registered a design model of a ratchet wheel with click.In 1916, the firm was granted Swiss patent No. 74144 for a chronograph mechanism. All the Swiss firms which depended heavily on trade with Russia were badly hit by the Russian Revolution in 1917, and had quickly to develop new products and new markets. In 1915-1919, Paul Girard-Gabus' son, Alexander Girard (1867-1940), was the repre-sentative of PAUL BUHRE in Le Locle. The firm was listed in 1920 at Le Locle as PAUL BUHRE SA, making calendar watches, chro-nometers, chronographs, and repeaters. I1930 the firm was listed as PAUL BUHRE & HENRI BARBEZAT-BOLE SA.An advertisement from that year said the firm had won 205 Obser-vatory prizes, offered high-qua-lity and extra high-quality horo-logy, simple and complicated. A 1934 advertisement offered one- and eight-day chronometers in boxes, stating that the firm had won 215 Observatory prizes, including that of Neuchâtel in 1930 and 1931, where they obtained the First Prize in the cate-gory of pocket chronometers of small dimen-sions. In 1939 the firm set a world record for mean daily rate for a wristwatchIn 1940 the firm was listed as MANUFACTURE DES MONTRES PAUL BUHRE & H. BARBEZAT-BOLE S.A., and a 1945 ad said that it had won 300 Observatory Prizes. By 1949 the ads claimed 400 Observatory Prizes. In 1946, the firm called itself MANU-FACTURE DES MONTRES PAUL BUHRE S.A.. They exhibited at Basel that year, with a woman's small square wristwatch with a heavy gold link bracelet. A 1950's ad cited 500 Observatory Prizes. The company was listed in 1966 for wrist chronometers and marine chronometers.A 1973 ad stated that the firm had won 529 Observatory Prizes. In 1979 PAUL BUHRE was part of the GROUPE DIXI-MECANIQUE.Kathryn Pritchard, Swiss Timepiece Makers, 1775-1975,NAWCC Publications, 1997.