Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces
Hong Kong, Jul 23, 2020
LOT 80
Paul Ditisheim
Decorative dress-watch; 18K yellow gold and enamel
Decorative dress-watch; 18K yellow gold and enamel
HKD 152,000 - 192,000
CHF 19,000 - 42,000 / USD 20,100 - 25,400
18K yellow gold and enamel, hunting-case, keyless-winding, roundshaped, heavy dress-watch, with subsidiary seconds at 6.
Case-back and cover painted on enamel on gold by an unidentified artist, monogrammed “E.V.” and dated 1918, showing, on the caseback, a sea-side landscape, and, on the cover, a group of six gorgeous, fleshy girls bathing naked in a cove by the sea in the setting sun; fluted case-band; bezels chiselled with friezes.
Gold colour dial with suspended “Breguet” numerals. Blued steel “Breguet” hands.
16’’’, rhodium-plated, going barrel, straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensated balance with gold poising screws and blued steel hairspring with terminal curve, index regulator; inside a gilded metal circle
Case-back and cover painted on enamel on gold by an unidentified artist, monogrammed “E.V.” and dated 1918, showing, on the caseback, a sea-side landscape, and, on the cover, a group of six gorgeous, fleshy girls bathing naked in a cove by the sea in the setting sun; fluted case-band; bezels chiselled with friezes.
Gold colour dial with suspended “Breguet” numerals. Blued steel “Breguet” hands.
16’’’, rhodium-plated, going barrel, straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensated balance with gold poising screws and blued steel hairspring with terminal curve, index regulator; inside a gilded metal circle
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: |
|
Case: 2 |
Very good |
Movement: 2* |
|
Dial: 2-01 |
Very good HANDS Original |
Brand Paul Ditisheim, La Chaux-de-Fonds
Year circa 1918
Case No. 1 918
Caliber 17’’’, lever escapement, “Grand Prix Paris 1900”
Dimensions Ø 53 mm.
Signature “E.V.” (painting on enamel)
Accessories original fitted box
Notes
Even if this watch is not signed, it can certainly be donated to the Paul Ditisheim House in La Chaux-de-Fonds, thanks to the “Grand Prix / Paris 1900” mark stamped on the barrel-bridge of the movement; this Manufacture awarded the highest distinction at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900. During this event, other houses such a s Omega, Longines and Zenith received the same medal, but the “Grand Prix / Paris 1900” mark was then used only on Paul Ditisheim movements; the other houses engraved it on the watch’s cuvette (dome) or specified it on their boxes, certificates and others papers.
Like many manufacturers of the time, Paul Ditisheim produced a lot of watches that were not signed because they were intended for foreign retailers who, for commercial reasons, preferred to put their own name on them. The best-known example is the production of Patek Philippe for Tiffany & Co., New York.
Another concrete example is the previous lot of this auction, an unsigned ring-watch, which bears the same mark “Grand Prix / Paris 1900” but also the mention of the Swiss patent granted to Paul Ditisheim for the invention of this specific ring-watch.
The enamel paintings, one of which is signed and dated “E. V. / 1918” can be attributed to a pupil or craftsman who was trained at the La Chaux-de-Fonds School of Art, under the guidance of Professor Albert Kocher (1873-1958). He taught the difficult art of enamel painting for almost 20 years. He was a member of the artistic group “Le Cercle du Sapin”, with Charles L’Eplattenier (1874-1946), Swiss painter, architect, sculptor and decorator, specialising in the field of Art Nouveau.
Ditisheim, Paul
La Chaux-de-Fonds, October 28, 1868 – Geneva, February 7, 1945
After early training in Switzerland, he studied in Berlin and Paris, arriving in England in 1891, where he worked as a technician at the Rotherham factory in Coventry. He started his own manufacture at La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1892, specialising in very high precision watches and jewelled watches. Success in both spheres followed rapidly, and he won many honours for adjusted watches, especially at the Neuchâtel and Kew Observatories.
He designed and patented his own compensation balance (Swiss invention patent No. 98 234), developed a new oil with remarkable stability, and was known for his superior skills in adjusting, skills that won him many prizes and honours.
He collaborated with Dr. Ch. E. Guillaume (1861-1938) in the use of both the Guillaume “integral” balance and the Elinvar-type of auto-compensating balance spring. He also contributed many papers to scientific and horological journals, and was associated with Dr. Paul Woog, an oil chemist, in the development of Chronax oils.
Like many manufacturers of the time, Paul Ditisheim produced a lot of watches that were not signed because they were intended for foreign retailers who, for commercial reasons, preferred to put their own name on them. The best-known example is the production of Patek Philippe for Tiffany & Co., New York.
Another concrete example is the previous lot of this auction, an unsigned ring-watch, which bears the same mark “Grand Prix / Paris 1900” but also the mention of the Swiss patent granted to Paul Ditisheim for the invention of this specific ring-watch.
The enamel paintings, one of which is signed and dated “E. V. / 1918” can be attributed to a pupil or craftsman who was trained at the La Chaux-de-Fonds School of Art, under the guidance of Professor Albert Kocher (1873-1958). He taught the difficult art of enamel painting for almost 20 years. He was a member of the artistic group “Le Cercle du Sapin”, with Charles L’Eplattenier (1874-1946), Swiss painter, architect, sculptor and decorator, specialising in the field of Art Nouveau.
Ditisheim, Paul
La Chaux-de-Fonds, October 28, 1868 – Geneva, February 7, 1945
After early training in Switzerland, he studied in Berlin and Paris, arriving in England in 1891, where he worked as a technician at the Rotherham factory in Coventry. He started his own manufacture at La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1892, specialising in very high precision watches and jewelled watches. Success in both spheres followed rapidly, and he won many honours for adjusted watches, especially at the Neuchâtel and Kew Observatories.
He designed and patented his own compensation balance (Swiss invention patent No. 98 234), developed a new oil with remarkable stability, and was known for his superior skills in adjusting, skills that won him many prizes and honours.
He collaborated with Dr. Ch. E. Guillaume (1861-1938) in the use of both the Guillaume “integral” balance and the Elinvar-type of auto-compensating balance spring. He also contributed many papers to scientific and horological journals, and was associated with Dr. Paul Woog, an oil chemist, in the development of Chronax oils.