Attributed to Paul Loichot

A gun metal open-faced keyless one-minute tourbillon watch with lever escapement Circa 1905, no. 896

No reserve

No Reserves

Lot Closed

September 16, 04:55 PM GMT

Estimate

800 - 1,200 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Property from the Masterworks of Time Collection

Attributed to Paul Loichot

A gun metal open-faced keyless one-minute tourbillon watch with lever escapement

Circa 1905, no. 896

• Movement: gilded full plate, lever escapement mounted on a one-minute tourbillon carriage, bi-metallic compensation balance, the backplate stamped Brevet 30754 and numbered 896

• Dial: asymmetrical white enamel dial, Roman numerals, outer gilt pearled minute ring, filigree hands, framed by polychrome enamel painted flowers, large aperture beneath revealing the gilt-metal tourbillon carriage

• Case: polished gun metal, pink gold bezel

diameter 57.5mm

Paul Loichot of Charquemont, France, applied for a patent for his tourbillon watch on 11 June 1904 under patent 30754. In his book, Das Tourbillon, Meis explains that Loichot did not actually refer to his watch as a tourbillon, but rather a watch in which the carriage and escapement are visible from the dial side. The obvious advantage of mounting the carriage to the front of the watch was in allowing its owner to easily view the mesmerising action of the tourbillon carriage in action. Watches of this type were produced in relatively large numbers and are today often referred to as the "People's Tourbillon". Invariably the movements were housed in nickel, silver or gun metal cases. A detailed description of Loichot's movement can be found in R. Meis, Das Tourbillon, 1986, p. 67 and a very similar watch to the present piece can be found op. cit. p.306, fig.440.