Important Watches, Collectors’ Wristw...

Hotel Noga Hilton, Nov 14, 2004

LOT 72

?Minerva? Uhrenfabrik Union, Glashütte, No. 55175, circa 1900. Very fine and extremely rare, 18K gold and niello, hunting-cased, pendant watch with case designed by Prof. Carl Ludwig Theodor Graff.

CHF 30,000 - 35,000

EUR 20,000 - 23,000 / USD 25,000 - 30,000

Sold: CHF 41,400

C. Four-body, ?Louis XV?, Renaissance style, entirely engraved, central cartouche depicting Minerva with a plumed helmet, diadem and a necklace, surrounded by courting birds, cornucopias, flower ribbons and small repeated ribbon pattern, gold bow and the upper part of the pendant engraved, gold hinged cuvette, back cover with box-hinge, numbered as the movement. D. White enamel, double sunk, Arabic numerals, outer minute divisions, subsidiary sunk seconds. Gold ?Louis XV? hands. M. 28 mm (13'''), gilt-brass, three-quarter-plate, straight-line lever escapement, 16 jewels, Glashütte bimetallic compensation balance, Breguet balance spring, gold escape wheel and pallet fork, jeweled to the center.Dial, case and movement signed.Diam. 37 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

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

Notes

The watch is in remarkably good condition. It still has what appears to be the original factory paper inside the back cover. The following two lots feature allegorical case decoration created by Prof. Carl Ludwig Theodor Graff of the Dresden School of Applied Arts, who became director of the Dresden Art and Industry Museum in 1874. His design symbolizes the prosperity enjoyed by Germany under the rule of Kaiser Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 to the end of World War I in 1918. The Roman goddess Minerva, patroness of war, symbolizes strength. As the goddess of handicrafts, she is also a patron of the watchmaking art. The cornucopias are symbols of prosperity, and the courting birds symbolize freedom and fertility. The watch is in remarkably good condition. It still has what appears to be the original factory paper inside the back cover. The watch is in remarkably good condition. It still has what appears to be the original factory paper inside the back cover.