21,850 CHF
Vacheron & Constantin, Genève, No. 372128, case No. 229587, circa 1918. Very fine and very rare 18K gold, keyless pocket "Chronomètre Antimagnétique". Four-body, "bassine", polished, gold hinged cuvette. White enamel, Arabic numerals, outer minute divi-sions,subsidiary sunk seconds. Gold "Spade" hands. 41 mm (18’’’), nickel, "fausses côtes" decoration, 18jewels, straight line lever escapement with beryllium pallet fork, cut-bimetallic compensation balance with goldand platinum screws, palladium Breguet balance spring.Signed on dial, case and movement, movement additionally engraved "Paillard Patent".Diam. 50 mm. Notes Charles-Auguste Paillard worked with Houriet. In Geneva in 1876, he began experimenting with gold alloys, using them as material for hairsprings. He finally turned to palladium, with which he had become familiar in Brazil, where he had been sent by his uncle to service marine chronometers. One of the main problems he was faced there were rusty springs. Palladium, which is rust-proof, was a subproduct of gold mining and was plentiful there. It is not mag-netic and is rust-proof. Balances fitted with palladium reduce acceleration. In 1886 Paillard was granted British patent (No. 6367) for making his palladium (actually palladium/copper) balance spring. His springs became quite popular as soon as they appeared and were, as reported by The Swiss Horological Journal, imitated from the very beginning. They remained popular until the invention of Guilla
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2004-04-24
