Audemars Piguet made for E. Gübelin Lucerne. An extremely fine, very rare and historically important 18K gold and enamel hunter case minute repeating perpetual calendar split second chronograph keyless lever watch with 60 minute counter, moon phases and heavy gold chain

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AUDEMARS PIGUETThe Walter P. Chrysler Minute Repeating Perpetual Calendar Split Seconds Chronograph Watch The Property of an Important Family Collection

Signed E. Gübelin, Lucerne, no. 12'541, movement manufactured in 1908, encased and sold in 1922

Details

Audemars Piguet made for E. Gübelin Lucerne. An extremely fine, very rare and historically important 18K gold and enamel hunter case minute repeating perpetual calendar split second chronograph keyless lever watch with 60 minute counter, moon phases and heavy gold chain
Signed E. Gübelin, Lucerne, no. 12'541, movement manufactured in 1908, encased and sold in 1922
Movement: cal. 18''' SMCRQS, manual, 35 jewels, micrometer regulator, repeating with two hammers on two gongs, signed by the retailer
Dial: signed by the retailer
Case: three-body, enhanced with geometric black enamel "Greek" decoration to the rim of the front and back, pendant and bow, back cover engraved with a stylized monogram “WPC”, the interior engraved “To my friend Walter P. Chrysler from James C. Brady, June 7th 1922”, repeating slide in the band, split second chronograph mechanism operated by two buttons in the band, 50 mm. diam., signed by the retailer
With: heavy long gold chain, approximate weight 120 grams

Provenance

Walter P. Chrysler (1875-1940)
One of the great American industrialists, Chrysler did not enter the automobile business until he was 36 years old, when he met Charles Nash, president of General Motors. Nash persuaded him to join GM as the manager of the Buick plant in Flint, Michigan. Under Chrysler’s leadership, Buick became the strongest unit of General Motors and the most successful automobile brand in the country. Within a year of his resignation from Buick, Chrysler had assumed direction of both the Willys-Overland Company and Maxwell Motor Company. At the time, Maxwell was an ailing company, drowning in debt. Chrysler set about reviving it, introducing the Chrysler Six in January 1924 during the New York Automobile Show. The genius of Chrysler’s new car was not only its advanced engine technology and its stylish appearance but its price: under $2,000, it was priced for average folk. The low-cost car was a hit with the public, and some 32,000 units were built and sold in a single year. Chrysler was named Time magazine’s 1928 Man of the Year, the same year, the Chrysler Corporation entered the top tier of American automobile makers, alongside General Motors and the Ford Motor Company.

Not content just to build iconic automobiles, Chrysler turned his attention to the erection of an iconic building. Between 1928 and 1930 he supervised the construction of the Chrysler Building, the striking Art Deco skyscraper, 77 stories high, on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street in New York City. Until the Empire State Building was completed in 1931, the Chrysler Building was the tallest building in the world. The structure was a separate endeavour from the auto business, designed as a business venture for Chrysler’s two sons, who were not interested in joining their father in the car industry.

Chrysler retired as president of his company in 1935, though he stayed on as chairman of the board until his death. In 1937 he published his life story in serial format; these articles were later gathered into an autobiography, Life of an American Workman (1950).

James C. Brady (1882-1927)
James Cox Brady, founded the Maxwell Motor Company, later bought by the Chrysler Corporation. As a banker and major investor at the Maxwell Motor Corporation in Michigan, he was very closely involved with Chrysler, Maxwell being the company chosen to launch the first Chrysler car models. The company was ailing when Chrysler took over as director for a four-year period from New York. Under Chrysler’s direction the company was turned around. Chrysler’s underlying ambition was to take control of Maxwell and make cars only under his own name and the Maxwell Motor Corporation was finally bought by the Chrysler Corporation in June 1925.

Engraved

To my friend Walter P. Chrysler from James C. Brady, June 7th 1922

Lot Essay

The Archives of Audemars Piguet confirm that the calibre 18SMCRQS movement no. 12'541 of the present hunter case « Grande Complication » watch (minute repeating, split seconds chronograph, perpetual calendar) was put into production in 1908. It was encased in the 18K gold case no. 12'541 with black enamel Greek decoration, finally striped dial with black enamel numerals signed Gübelin Lucerne, blued steel Breguet hands, and sold to Gübelin in 1922 for CHF3,600.

To most people, the mere mention of the name Chrysler immediately conjours up the image of this New York Art Deco masterpiece, the Chrysler Building in Manhattan, and the automobiles that bore his name. Walter P. Chrysler was one of the greatest American entrepreneurs of the 20th century, his name still famous the world over from his involvement in the American car industry. The company he founded still bears his name today – The Chrysler Corporation.

This superb and complicated Audemars Piguet watch was certainly a suitably stylish and impressive gift for a man of Chrysler’s stature. It was given to him, as the engraved inscription states, by his friend James C. Brady on 7 June 1922. Brady also had Chrysler’s initials “WPC” engraved to the back cover.

Slim complicated watches of this design are among the pinnacles of Audemars Piguet’s production.The design of the dial is very pleasing to the eye with prominence given to the calendar functions, the soft sheen of the brushed silvered plate a perfect foil for the rich blue enamel moon phase. The split second chronograph function would have greatly appealed to a man like Walter P. Chrysler, it enables the timing of two events at the same time, for instance two cars racing, and has a 60-minute counter for single events of longer than one minute in duration.

The 9 complications
The present timepiece impresses with the following 9 complications, in addition to the essential timekeeping functions such as hours, minutes and seconds which are not considered complications:

1. Minute repeater
2. Perpetual Calendar
3. Days of the month
4. Days of the week
5. Months
6. Moon phases and age
7. Chronograph
8. Split seconds function
9. Chronograph register

Preserved in very good original overall condition, the rarity is further enhanced by the retailer's signature Gübelin, Audemars Piguet's distinguished retailer in Lucerne.

E. Gübelin was founded in 1854 and has always been a family enterprise. Located in Lucerne, Switzerland, the renowned company has been manufacturing and retailing superior quality watches and clocks ever since. The firm was one of Audemars Piguet's most important clients in the first quarter of the 20th century and watches supplied to them were bearing exclusively the Gübelin signature, such as the present example. This at the time common practice had been agreed by contract, stipulating the omitting of Audemars Piguet's signature, with the exception of the serial numbers.

A similar watch is illustrated in: Audemars Piguet, Gisbert L. Brunner, Christian Pfeiffer-Belli and Martin K. Wehrli, p. 153.

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