Important Watches, Wristwatches and C...

Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, Apr 12, 1997

LOT 407

D. Bachelard & Fils a Geneve, No. 16864, circa 1850. Unusual, fine and rare 18K gold wandering time watch.

CHF 4,000 - 5,000

C. Four body, "forme quatre baguettes" with reeded band, the bezels and bow with a cast floral decoration, the back finely engraved with a portrait of Napoleon I riding a horse framed by foliage decoration. Hinged gold engine-turned cuvette engraved with technical details. D. Silver Arabic minute chapter ring, the frosted silver revolving cent r e with a circular aperture for the jumping digital hour volvelle, framed in the tip of the gold single hand. M. 19"', gilt brass, bar calibre with going barrel, 8 jewels, cylinder escapement, plain brass three ant balance, flat balance spring with regulator. Signed on the cuvette. In very good condition. Diam. 50 mm.


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Notes

On wandering hour watches, the time is shown by a digital jumping hour in an aperture revolving Within a semi-circular sector and pointing to the minutes engraved on the border. First invented towards the end of the 17th century, watches with wandering time dials were initially made as presentation watches in England and Germany, with the portrait or the coat-of-arms of the King, below the semi-circular aperture. (See The Art of British Horology, October 1995, pp. 64-65.) A few where also produced in Geneva circa 1800. After 1925 they were reintroduced in Switzerland by Robert Cart, who produced them in an Art-Deco design, the digital jumping hour aperture showing the time on a fixed outer minute chapter ring. The patent was then bought by Breguet who produced them both as pocket and wristwatches. Wandering hour watches from the half of the 19th century are extremely rare.