Important Watches, Collector's Wristw...

The Ritz-carlton Hotel, Jun 06, 2004

LOT 96

B. Haas Jeune, Genève-Paris, No. 15795, circa 1880. Very fine 18K gold, hunting-cased pocket chronometer with ?remontoire perpétuel à décrochement? keyless cover winding.

HKD 50,000 - 65,000

EUR 5,300 - 7,000 / USD 6,500 - 8,500

C. five-body, ?bassine et filets?, front engraved with initials, back with symbols of happy marriage, gold hinged cuvette.D. white enamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minute divisions with five-minute gilt Arabic markers, subsidiary sunk seconds. Gold ?spade? hands. M. 40 mm (18???), maillechort, ?fausses-côtes? decoration, straight line calibrated lever escapement, cut-bimetallic compensation balance with Breguetbalance spring, patented winding mechanism by closing the cover which transmits the power via two levers to a ratchet wheel on the barrel arbor with a safety device disengaging the mechanism when fully wound, going train with an additional wheel driving a steel wheel fixed to the center wheel having half the diameter of the driving one, second motion train driven from the canon pinion and advanced directly by pushing the teeth of the minute wheel, lever-set, punched twice with Seal of Geneva Quality marks.Accompanied by copies of the original patents.Signed on the cuvette.Diam. 53 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

In 1873 Benjamin Haas patented an interesting winding mechanism (English patent No. 3945 of Dec 2, 1873). The idea was to utilize the energy generated when closing the front cover to wind the watch. The initial idea was improved; his watch features a well-developed system with a 36-hour power reserve generated by twelve closings. To achieve this, Haas changed the going train, adding an additional wheel, which allowed him three hours? winding by a single closing. He designed a safety device disengaging the mechanism when fully wound, which prevented damage to the cover.