CIRCA: 1906
CASE MATERIAL: Nickel
CASE SIZE: 52.5 mm. diam.
DIAL: Engine-turned silvered and gilt
MOVEMENT: Manual, keyless
FUNCTIONS: One minute tourbillon

The Private Collection of Theodor Beyer, Antiquorum, Zurich, 16 November 2003, lot 92.

This lot is subject to standard Swiss VAT rules and 7.7% VAT will be charged on the ‘hammer’ and the ‘buyer’s premium’

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Lot Essay

The brothers Henri-Louis and Philippe Auguste Courvoisier were active as of 1842 as “Courvoisier Frères”, later changed to “Courvoisier Fils”. The firm specialized in high quality watches, including an ultra-slim watch, considered at the time the thinnest in the world, commissioned by the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds for Wilhem IV, King of Prussia.

The tourbillon used in this watch was invented and patented by the watchmaker Paul Loichot of Charquemont, Doubs (France). He inverted the movement, allowing the carriage to be seen through the dial and placed the escapement in a straight line, Swiss patent no. 30’754 of 1905. It was then registered under the trade name “Mobilis” by Courvoisier Frères on 4 July 1905.

A similar watch is in the British Museum, Museum No. 1958,1201.1123. Other examples are described and illustrated in Reinhard Meis, Das Tourbillon, p. 308.