57,500 CHF
Julien Le Roy à Paris No. 2268, Inventé par julien Le Roy en 1749. Extremely rare and fine, perhaps unique 18 ct. gold, dumb quarter-repeating watch, the repeating mechanism without spring. Double body, Louis XV, polished, bearing the Paris hallmarks for 1744-1750. White enamel with Roman numerals, outer Arabic minute ring and subsidiary seconds. Gold Louis XV hands. Notes This is perhaps the only surviving example of such an ingenious repeating mechanism working without springs. Mentioned by Pierre Le Roy in his Hommage à Julien Le Roy, published in 1760 in his Etrenues Chrouonnetriques, it was invented to avoid the frequent troubles in repeating watches causai by the traditional repeating train. The invention met with moderate success, probably because of its unusual way of repeating the hours "in six", but interested several horologists all over Europe, including Ferdinand Berthoud : Histoire de la Mesure du Temps, 1802, Vol. I, 154; F.A. Schmidt : Beltragt zur Zeitmzsskunst, 1797; and T. Reid : Treatise, 1826, p. 332. Beside the unique repeating system, it is most unusual in having subsidiary seconds slightly offset on the dial, between V and VI. The Property of Sir William Pennington-Ramsden, Bt., when sold by Christie's in London on 11 June 1975, this watch was coming from Charles; Marquis of Rockingham (1730-1782), Lord of the Bedchamber, Trustee of Westminster School and Governor of Charterhouse; a leading Whig Minister in charge of the Treasury just before h
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
1993-11-14
