The escapement During the last quarter of the 18th century, several watchmakers tried to produce watches with dead center-seconds hands, much in favor among the scientific community and on the Chinese market. The first attempt, made by Moïse Pouzait around 1786, featured a lever escapement associated with a large seconds-beating balance. It was much appreciated by the Chinese before Jacot?s invention, circa 1840, of the so-called "Chinese duplex" escapement with double-tooth arrangement. The present watch features this escapement in its earliest form. Helen and Paris After the famous beauty contest between three goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, the judge, Paris, (son of the King of Troy) was promised the most beautiful woman in the world by the victorious goddess Aphrodite (Venus). This happened to be Helen, the wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta. When Menelaus left for Crete for his grandfather?s funeral, Paris seduced Helen and took her to Troy. For his sake Helen abandoned her daughter by Menelaus. The often-seen phrases the ?abduction of Helen? or even the ?rape of Helen?, are only conventions; for she went with Paris of her own free will and in doing so involuntarily caused the Trojan War. Herodotus (5th century B.C.), recounting the abduction of Helen, remarks ?it is stupid after the event to make a fuss about avenging it. The only sensible thing is to take no notice; for it is obvious that no young woman allows herself to be abducted if she does not wish to be.? Interestingly, according to one legend, Helen was the fruit of another ?rap ?: the seduction of Leda by Zeus, in the form of a swan.