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Lot Essay
The present watch is distinguished by its minute repeating movement of very small size, particularly complex and challenging to manufacture. Of finest quality it epitomizes Tiffany's Swiss production of the late 19th century.
The celebrated house of Tiffany & Co., founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812-1902), opened his first store in New York in 1837. Ten years later, his catalogue incorporated French watches and clocks.
Tiffany probably became acquainted with the quality watchmakers Antoine Patek and Adrien Philippe at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, and three years later agreed to import Patek Philippe pocket watches into the US. In 1868, Tiffany started advertising its own dial names.
By 1874 Tiffany had become a veritable Swiss watchmaker, producing timepieces by the lake in Geneva at 10 Grand Quai, today Patek Philippe's prestigious Salon on the renamed Rue du Rhône. In that same year, Charles Tiffany opened an ultra-modern factory on Place Cornavin and shortly after, his company was acknowledged as the leading watch and clock retailer in the US, alongside its substantial jewellery business.
The movements were made by Tiffany or other manufacturers in Geneva, most notably Patek Philippe but also Ekegren, the cases were often produced or embellished in the firm's New York headquarters.
The celebrated house of Tiffany & Co., founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812-1902), opened his first store in New York in 1837. Ten years later, his catalogue incorporated French watches and clocks.
Tiffany probably became acquainted with the quality watchmakers Antoine Patek and Adrien Philippe at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, and three years later agreed to import Patek Philippe pocket watches into the US. In 1868, Tiffany started advertising its own dial names.
By 1874 Tiffany had become a veritable Swiss watchmaker, producing timepieces by the lake in Geneva at 10 Grand Quai, today Patek Philippe's prestigious Salon on the renamed Rue du Rhône. In that same year, Charles Tiffany opened an ultra-modern factory on Place Cornavin and shortly after, his company was acknowledged as the leading watch and clock retailer in the US, alongside its substantial jewellery business.
The movements were made by Tiffany or other manufacturers in Geneva, most notably Patek Philippe but also Ekegren, the cases were often produced or embellished in the firm's New York headquarters.