IWC | A GOLD HUNTING CASED DIGITAL DISPLAY KEYLESS LEVER 'PALLWEBER' WATCH CIRCA 1900, NO. 29529
Auction Closed
July 14, 12:35 PM GMT
Estimate
1,500 - 2,500 GBP
Lot Details
Description
IWC
A GOLD HUNTING CASED DIGITAL DISPLAY KEYLESS LEVER 'PALLWEBER' WATCH
CIRCA 1900, NO. 29529
type III gilded lever Pallweber movement, bi-metallic compensated balance, forked bridge, stamped IWC, white enamel dial with vertical apertures for jump hours and minutes, subsidiary seconds, dial signed International Watch Co, 14ct gold engine-turned case with vacant cartouche to the front, case and gold cuvette numbered 29529
diameter 50mm.
In June 1884, factory worker and engineer Joseph Pallweber was contracted by Mr J. Rauschenbach of IWC in Schaffhausen to exclusively provide his company with the use of his digital mechanism in over 20,000 pieces which they termed, 'the alternative to hands in watches.' Rauchenbach thought this exciting mechanism was the meal ticket his fledgling company so badly needed which so far had already been bankrupted twice. However, although the idea flopped and production quickly ceased (making these pieces all the more collectible today), the system did both herald and influence a number of other 'digital' display watches.
For a detailed discussion of the Pallweber watches, see: Hans-F Tölke, Jürgen King, IWC, International Watch Co. Schaffhausen, 1987, pp.103-126.