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拍品专文
Beautifully preserved in near mint condition, the present watch is both a technically fascinating and unusual precision timepiece and a visual delight. It is also extremely rare, to date no other examples appear to have been offered at auction.
This watch is extremely interesting for several reasons: it is a two-time zone watch made before the official adoption of time zones as we know them today. The earliest two-time zone watches such as the present watch were fitted with two dials and two movements, later versions use a single train with a clutch mechanism to adjust the second hour hand. Because one of the separate dials has Turkish numerals, it is a possibility that this watch was made at the request of a ship’s captain who made regular journeys to or from Turkey and Europe who needed to know the time in his home port as a navigational aid or for the timing of journeys – up to 12-hours each way for instance. The two separate wheel trains can be stopped sequentially and then restarted in unison by the co-axial button in the crown. One press stops the right-hand movement for the Turkish dial, the second press stops the second movement - at which point the entire mechanism is stopped, a third press then restarts both movements at exactly the same moment.
Precision was evidently a concern in the construction of the watch of which all the parts are of very high quality. The calibrated and counterpoised lever escapements are mounted in mirror-image form and each has a white metal helical balance spring mounted above so it is therefore likely that the watch is antimagnetic. The bimetallic compensation balances themselves are oscillating free because the balance springs are mounted within the movement and it is probable that when both trains are running over a long period the watch benefits from the effects of resonance.
This very attractive and highly innovative watch would make a wonderful addition to any collection and will certainly appeal to the aficionado of Swiss master watchmaking.
This watch is extremely interesting for several reasons: it is a two-time zone watch made before the official adoption of time zones as we know them today. The earliest two-time zone watches such as the present watch were fitted with two dials and two movements, later versions use a single train with a clutch mechanism to adjust the second hour hand. Because one of the separate dials has Turkish numerals, it is a possibility that this watch was made at the request of a ship’s captain who made regular journeys to or from Turkey and Europe who needed to know the time in his home port as a navigational aid or for the timing of journeys – up to 12-hours each way for instance. The two separate wheel trains can be stopped sequentially and then restarted in unison by the co-axial button in the crown. One press stops the right-hand movement for the Turkish dial, the second press stops the second movement - at which point the entire mechanism is stopped, a third press then restarts both movements at exactly the same moment.
Precision was evidently a concern in the construction of the watch of which all the parts are of very high quality. The calibrated and counterpoised lever escapements are mounted in mirror-image form and each has a white metal helical balance spring mounted above so it is therefore likely that the watch is antimagnetic. The bimetallic compensation balances themselves are oscillating free because the balance springs are mounted within the movement and it is probable that when both trains are running over a long period the watch benefits from the effects of resonance.
This very attractive and highly innovative watch would make a wonderful addition to any collection and will certainly appeal to the aficionado of Swiss master watchmaking.