$20,700
Ls. Gallopin & Cie, Successors de Henri Capt, Genève. Produced circa 1890. Very fine and very rare, miniature, keyless, minute-repeating, 18K gold pendant watch. Four-body,“bassine”, solid, polished, gold hinged cuvette. White enamel with Arabic numerals, outer minute divisions, subsidiary sunk seconds dial. Gold “spade” hands. Cal. 22.5 mm.,(10’’’), maillechort,“fausses côtes” decoration, 31 jewels, straight line calibrated lever escapement, cut-bimetallic compensation balance, Breguet balance spring, repeating on gongs by activating slide on the band.Dial, case and movement signed.Diam. 28 mm. Notes Henry-Daniel Capt Born in Chenit in 1773, he married Henriette Piguet. He specialized in the production of complicated watches, musical watches and automaton watches. Among the first in Geneva to use the musical mechanism with pinned cylinder and comb with tuned teeth, he was famous for his snuffboxes with music and automaton scenes. From Ventôse 16, An X (March 7, 1802), to 1811, he formed a partnership with Daniel Isaac Piguet, who was from the same village as he. Their signature was Piguet & Capt. In 1811, when Piguet broke off to join Meylan in a new partnership, Henry-Daniel Capt decided to work on his own until, in 1830, he went into partnership with Aubert and his son, Place Bel-Air. Their signature was Aubert & Capt. They were among the first makers in Geneva to produce watches with chronograph. In 1844 the workshop was at 108, rue Neuve in Geneva and was then mana
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2004-05-26
