12,500 CHF
REVOLUTIONARY TIME Swiss. Made for the French market, circa 1794. Fine and very rare, silver Revolutionary watch with decimal and duodecimal time. Two-body, "Directoire", polished, the back with an engraved monogram. White enamel, with concentric indication of decimal time in black radial Roman numerals and Arabic 100 minute divisions, duodecimal time in red Arabic numerals I-12 in each half of the dial, with outermost 60-minute divisions. Gilt fl eur-de-lis and pierced hands. 45 mm, hinged, frosted gilt full plate with cylindrical pillars, fusee and chain, verge escapement with micrometric potence adjustment, brass three-arm balance with fl at balance spring, continental cock, silver regulation dial. Diam. 56 mm. Notes This watch is evocative of a brief and turbulent period in French history when the new Republic decreed the use of decimal time. After the Revolution, a new digital system was adopted. The day was divided into ten hours of 100 minutes each, each minute being subdivided into 100 seconds. Thus, for example, 12:30 PM was 5:20:83.3 in decimal time. The decimalization of time was introduced on November 24, 1793. The new division of time proved impossible to enforce, and was suspended on April 7, 1795. Thus, there was a period of less than 18 months during which these timepieces were produced, which explains why they are so rare. See: “Revolutionary Time”, Vox Magazine, 2004
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2011-11-13
