Important Collectors’ Wristwatches, P...

New York - The Fuller Building, Mar 28, 2007

LOT 142

"Minute Repeater" Patek Philippe & Cie, Genève, No. 197893, case No. 410839. Made in the 1920s. Fine and elegant, thin, keyless, minute-repeating, 18K yellow gold dress watch. Accompanied by the Extract from the Archives.

USD 8,000 - 9,000

EUR 10,000 - 12,000

C. Three-body, "demi-bassine," solid, polished, case back with initials, dedication on the inside. D. Frosted gold with painted Arabic numerals, sunk subsidiary seconds dial. Blued steel "Breguet" hands. M. Cal. 17 ''', rhodium plated, "fausses-côtes" decoration, 29 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance adjusted to eight positions, blued steel flat balance spring, repeating on gongs by activating slide on the band. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 45 mm. Thickness 10 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

Good

HANDS Original

Notes

What is a Minute Repeater? A minute repeating watch tells the time both visually and audibly. A slide on the side of the case, usually near the 9, will activate two hammers in the movement. These hammers strike two gongs curled within the case. First one hammer strikes a gong of lower tonality; it will count out the hours. Then both hammers will strike both gongs alternatively to count out the quarter hours after that hour, and then the second hammer alone striking a gong of higher tonality will count out the minutes after that quarter hour. The repeating mechanism was developed by Daniel Quare. In 1687, he had patented a mechanism that sounded the hours and the quarter hours. The early repeaters used bells. At the end of the 18th century, two bent-wire gongs became the more popular mechanism. In 1892, the first minute repeater wristwatch was produced by Omega, a model with a round-shaped case.