16,100 CHF
Lepine, Invenit et fecit, No. 6196, circa 1805. Fine and rare, 18K gold and enamel, á toc quarter-repeating watch with date. Double-body, of Lepine type by master casemaker Tavernier, No. 2501 with concealed hinge, reeded bezels and engine-turned back within blue enamel frame, small oval initial medaillon in the lower part encircled with blue enamel frame, opening by twisting the pendant, fixed front bezel. Gilt brass hinged cuvette signed Lépine, horloger de l’Impératrice à Paris". White enamel with Breguet numerals and outer Arabic date ring, the number "1" in an oval frame. Blued-steel Breguet hands. 45 mm (20’’’), gilt brass, early Lépine caliber with free-standing barrel, cylinder escapement, plain brass three-arm balance, flat balance spring, Lépine repetition system with LeRoy’s anchor governor, repeating by two polished hammers on the movement adapter ring by depressing the pendant. Signed on the dial and the cuvette.Diam. 54 mm. Notes This watch is a good example of the ultimate development of watches produced in the Lépine workshop before the death of Jean-Antoine Lépine. The movement represents his classical design for repeaters (see drawing). The watch is described and illustrated in "Jean-Antoine Lepine, horloger (1720-1814)" by Adolphe Chapiro, Paris, 1988, pp. 94, 213, and 265.
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2004-04-24
