Important Collectors' Wristwatches, P...

Hong Kong, Jul 10, 2005

LOT 288

?Deck Chronometer? Patek, Philippe & Cie, Genève, No. 133301, case No. 241846. Made in 1906. Extremely fine silver deck and pocket lever chronometer with 36 hour power reserve indicator and Guillaume balance. Accompanied by the Extract from the Archives.

HKD 140,000 - 180,000

EUR 14,000 - 18,000 / USD 18,000 - 23,000

C. Four-body, ?bassine?, polished, silver hinged cuvette. D. Heavy, solid silver, boldchamplevé radial Roman numerals, outer champlevé minute track, champlevé up-and-down sectorat 12, champlevé subsidiary seconds. Blued-steel ?spade? hands. M. 21??, 18 jewels, straight line calibrated lever escapement,anibal-brass Guillaume balance with ?winged? arms, gold temperature adjustment screws and platinum mean time ones, special alloyBreguet balance spring inner and outer terminal curves, diamond endstone, ?swan-neck? micrometric regulator.Dial, case and movement signed.Diam. 60 mm.


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent

Case: 3

Good

Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense

Dial: 3 - 5 - 01

Notes

Anibal (acier au nickel pour balanciers) : an alloy invented by Dr. Charles Edouard Guillaume, exhibits unusual properties, both in terms of thermal expansion and in changes in elasticity. These properties are very different from those of two other famous alloys invented by Guillaume, Invar and Elinvar. Around 1900 Guillaume attempted to eliminate the so-called Middle Temperature Error caused by the fact that the change of rate in a timekeeper with a steel-brass bimetallic balance is approximately a linear function of temperature, while the change of rate caused by change in elasticity of a balance spring is approximately a quadratic function. Thus, it equals zero at only two temperatures, causing secondary error. Countless attempts were made to eliminate Middle Temperature Error, usually by means of auxiliary compensation devices. In 1899, Guillaume noticed that steel with an addition of 44.4% nickel had a negative square coefficient of thermal expansion. This alloy, combined with brass in bimetallic lamina, makes its expansion close to quadratic. Balances with bimetallic rims made of anibal and brass are usually called Guillaume balances, or, as their inventor called them, integral balances. When combined with special balance springs, they exhibit remarkable temperature stability, on occasion not exceeding 1/50 second per day at 1oC.