Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces.
Hong Kong, Oct 27, 2018
LOT 384
UNSIGNED, NEUCHÂTEL MOUNTAINS DOUBLE-FACE WATCH WITH VISIBLE BALANCE; "LA NEUCHÂTELOISE", SILVER
HKD 24,000 - 32,000
CHF 3,000 - 4,000 / USD 3,100 - 4,150
Sold: HKD 35,000
Silver, double-faced open-face, key-winding, round-shaped, pocket watch, hinged case-back; the second dial with a visible mock pendulum visible inside an aperture in the base of a traditional "Neuchâteloise" clock; the back-plate of the movement engraved in taille-douce with foliage.
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: AA |
Very good |
Case: 3 |
Good |
Movement: 3* |
Good Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense |
Dial: 3-01 |
Good HANDS Original |
Brand Unsigned
Year circa 1800-1820
Case No. Unnumbered
Caliber 19'' gilded brass, with fusee and chain, verge escapement, monometallic balance and blued steel hairspring
Dimensions Ø 53 mm.
Notes
Watches with mock pendulum insert a "Neuchâteloise" clock decoration For another interesting watch, also unsigned but made in the same spirit circa 1870, see Antiquorum, Geneva, April 24, 1999, lot 569. This type of watches seems to have inspired two manufacturers, W. Zumstein, and Ch. Rengger, both at Fleurier (Val-de-Travers), who produced "novelty" watches with mock pendulum, especially made for the Chinese Market between 1903 and 1909; watches now so-called "La petite pendule" (for two examples of them, see: Antiquorum, Geneva, May 13, 2012, lot 216; Antiquorum, Geneva, May 15, 2015, lot 26). Bibliography Chapuis, Alfred, La Montre Chinoise, Neuchâtel, 1919, pp. 214-215, fig. 183-184.