Exceptional Horological Works of Art

Geneva, Oct 19, 2002

LOT 9

Harbor Scene Louis-Elysée Piguet, No. 5310 2877 47766, enamel attributed to P.-Amédée Champod, made for the Chinese market, circa 1890. 18K rose gold and enamel double-train, grande sonnerie clock watch with minute-repeating mechanism and center seconds.

CHF 60,000 - 80,000

EUR 40,000 - 50,000

Sold: CHF 69,000

C. Four-body, "bassine et filets", back cover painted on enamel with gold paillons, depicting boats against a sunset in a harbor and a lighthouse, band with red translucent and opalescent enamel over flinqué, bezels set with half pearls. D. White enamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minute track, gold "trèfle" hands set with ruby paste. M. 45 mm. (20???), gilt brass, 29 jewels, straight line calibrated lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, Breguet balance spring. Signed on the pillar plate under the dial "L. Eée Piguet". Diam. 56 mm.


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

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

Notes

The ebauche incorporates both keyless and key winding systems. The Chinese preferred key winding, which they considered more reliable, therefore the keyless winding system in this watch was abandoned in favor of key winding. The striking mechanism is based on Henri Golay?s design of 1859. An almost identical watch is described and illustrated in "La Montre Chinoise" by Alfred Chapuis, the plate following p. 212. A very similar watch with a different scene was in the Lord Sandberg Collection (see Antiquorum, March 31, 2001, No. 94). Louis Elisée Piguet (1836?1924) from Le Brassus, he made a number of exceptional timepieces, among them a "grande sonnerie" with seven hammers. Some of the most complicated watches sold in Glashütte employed L. E. Piguet movements. Patek Philippe, Vacheron & Constantin, and Breguet, among others, used his movements on special occasions. He improved chronographs, and invented a fixed star repeating mechanism and an improved keyless winding system. When Ami LeCoultre Piguet received a commission for "La Merveilleuse", a watch with 24 functions and complications, he chose Louis-Elisée Piguet as his partner. One of the most talented and prolific watchmakers of the end of the 19th century, he was highly respected by his peers and was chosen to serve on a number of horological committees. His company has survived and continues the tradition of making high quality complicated timepieces, as Fréderick Piguet SA. Literature: "Horlogers et montres exceptionnels de la Vallée de Joux", Daniel Aubert, Neuchâtel, 1997.