Exceptional Horological Sale Celebrat...

Hotel Noga Hilton, Geneva, Apr 24, 2004

LOT 82

A. Lange & Söhne, Glasshütte b/Dresden, No. 40588, sold in 1899 for 605 DM. Very fine and extremely rare 18K gold, keyless dead center-seconds first quality chronograph watch.

CHF 25,000 - 35,000

EUR 15,800 - 22,000 / USD 19,500 - 27,000

Sold: CHF 74,750

C. Four-body, "Lucia", polished, gold glazed cuvette to view the movement.D. White enamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minute/dead seconds divisions. Blued steel "spade" hands.M. 42 mm (19???), three-quarter plate, 26 jewels, the top jewels in screwed gold chatons, straight line Glashütte lever escapement, gold escape wheel and pallet fork, banking by a single pin in a pin hole, cut bimetallic compensation balance with gold screws, blued steel Breguet balance spring, diamond endstone, "swan-neck" micrometric regulator, Lange?s patented dead seconds mechanism from the same train.Signed on dial, case and movement. Diam. 52 mm.


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

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

Notes

The independent dead seconds mechanism was invented by Moise Pouzait in Geneva in 1776. It had two trains with two power sources. Breguet, probably by the end of the 18th century, devised a dead-seconds mechanism utilizing a single train. In 1867 Adolph Lange invented a very clever mechanism driving the dead-seconds also from a single going train by implementing one-second remon- toire-like device (see drawing). During one second interval enough energy is stored in the springs f1 and f2 to advance the wheel b to give enough momentum to the jump second pinion to advance the hand for one second. According to Meis only three early watches were fitted with this system. The system was not patented until ten years later by Lange?s son Richard, under German patent No. 182 of August 3, 1877.