Collector's Pocket Watches, Wristwatc...

Noga Hilton, Geneva, Apr 12, 2003

LOT 350

Omega "Tourbillon", Geneva,No. 10595935, Cal. 1. Produced in 1947.Extremely rare and very important, sterling silver chronometer gentleman's wristwatch with a 7 1/2 minute revolving "Tourbillon" regulator. Accompanied by a stainless steel Omega buckle and fitted box.

CHF 110,000 - 130,000

EUR 76,000 - 90,000 / USD 81,000 - 96,000

Sold: CHF 124,500

C.three-body, solid, polished, transparent back, lapidated bezel, concave lugs.D. matte silver with painted black Arabic numerals, auxiliary seconds dial. "B?ton" blued steel hands.M. Cal. 30.I.1947, 2/3 plate, nickel silver, 25 jewels, "tourbillon" regulator, two-part brass cage held by three case-screws with slanted surface, cut bimetallic Guillaume balance, Breguet overcoil, 18'000 vibration/hour, index visible on one of the cage's arms, on the band at 4 o'clock, pushbutton for hand-setting.Dial and movement signed.Diam. 36 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 2
Movement: 2*
Dial: 2 - 01

Notes

Conceived to eliminate positional error, the "tourbillon" is a rotating cage containing all the escapement parts, with the balance at its center. Omega designed only twelve examples of this chronometer, exclusively for Observatory precision contests; they were made by Jean-Pierre Matthey-Claudet according to plans drawn by Marcel Vuilleumier, director of the "Ecole d'Horlogerie" of the Vall?e de Joux. Regulated by the famous Alfred Jaccard, some of these watches obtained excellent results from947 to 1952 in Kew Teddington (London), Neuch?tel and Geneva.One piece particularly - No. 10'595'933 - won 867.7 points at the Geneva Observatory contest in 1950, the best performance ever achieved up to that time in the category of single wristwatches.In 1987, seven of this series of chronometers had their 2/3 plate movement entirely overhauled, rhodium-plated, angled, polished, decorated with "C?tes de Gen?ve" and fitted with an 18K gold or silver case with transparent back and push-button for time-setting protected by an olivette.