Exceptional Horological Sale Celebrat...

Hotel Noga Hilton, Geneva, Apr 24, 2004

LOT 159

Louis Audemars, Brassus and Geneva, No. 10517, produced circa 1867, sold on December 15, 1870 for 4,000 Swiss francs. Exceptionally fine, highly complicated 18K gold keyless astronomical double-train independent split dead-seconds watch with minute-repeating, fifth of a second foudroyante, 12-hour and minute recorder, phases and age of the moon, day and date, thermometer, and stop feature, in wooden fitted box.

CHF 80,000 - 100,000

EUR 50,000 - 63,000 / USD 62,000 - 78,000

Sold: CHF 146,500

C. Four-body, "bassine et filets", polished, with the initials "WK" engraved on the back, gold hinged cuvette engraved with list of medals obtained at exhibitions and description of the watch, calendar setting pins on the band, stop lever at 7 o?clock under the bezel.D. White enamel, two small eccentric hour and minute chapters with radial Roman numerals and outer minute divisions, the right one driven by the going train concentric with the date, the left by the independent one, concentric with the days of the week, subsidiary sunk seconds concentric with fifth-second jumper, phases of the moon aperture at 12 o?clock with its age sector scale on the edge, outermost seconds divisions with five-seconds Arabic markers. Gold "spade" hands.M. 48 mm (21???), frosted gilt, double going barrels with Mairet tandem winding, gold wheel trains, 45 jewels, straight line calibrated lever escapement, cut-bimetallic compensation balance with Breguet balance spring, independent train engagement by a double flirt acting on the escape wheel pinion, very clever setting mechanism by two pins set on the band at 1 and 11 o?clock, rack and pinion bimetallic thermometer mechanism, repeating on gongs through activating slide in the band.Signed on dial and case, phases of the moon signed with the same serial number under the counter-enamel. Diam. 53 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3

Good
Dial: 3 - 18 - 01

Notes

The present watch is illustrated and described in "Louis-Benjamin Audemars, His Life and Work", by Hartmut Zantke, Germany, 2003, pp. 262-263. Examining this watch one cannot help admiring the ingenuity and variety of the design, as well as the attention paid to the details. The finish of the escapement, with its equidistant pallets and the undercut of the escape wheel to make it lighter but still stable; the polish of the steel, the arrangement of the cadrature (the work under the dial), are on a par with the best horological work done. The split-seconds chronograph is operated by a single pushpiece in the crown. The first push brings both chronograph hands together and starts the dead seconds with both hands. The second push stops one of the hands, the third push stops the split-seconds hand.