.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Founded in 1785 by the talented watchmaker Philippe Du Bois, Du Bois & Fils was one of the most important watch companies in the Neuchâtel area for over two centuries. Du Bois employed many well known watchmakers and worked closely with Abraham-Louis Perrelet. According to Swiss Timepiece Makers 1775-1975 by Kathleen H. Pritchard, p. D-92, Du Bois & Fils supplied movements to A. Perrelet as of 1761. Perrelet, one of Breguet's early instructors, had around 1780 the idea to maintain a watch wound by using the energy generated by the person carrying it. To keep the watch wound, an oscillating weight or rotor was connected to the winding system and functioning like a pendulum, its movements using the gear trains to wind the barrel spring.
Timekeepers fitted with such a movement were called pedometer-wind or "perpetual", today better known as self-winding or automatic watches.
Timekeepers fitted with such a movement were called pedometer-wind or "perpetual", today better known as self-winding or automatic watches.