53,100 CHF
“Motel Marine Chronometer No. 212” Hri. Motel, Hger de la Marine Rle., “Chronometre a Suspension”, No. 212. Sold to the Dépôt de la Marine on June 16, 1840, for 2,400 Francs. Very fine and very rare, mahogany, 30-hour marine chronometer with Motel’s front winding, Louis Berthoud-type pivoted detent escapement and conical balance spring. Three-body mahogany box with hinged lid, the top with glazed port covered by a sliding panel inset with numbered brass plaque, brass gimbals with a weighted bowl lined with velvet, brass case en forme de tabatière, similar to that used by Louis Berthoud for his later chronometers, the winding hole on the bezel, covered by a slide engraved “remontoir”. Silvered with radial Roman numerals, outer minute divisions, subsidiary seconds. Blued steel Breguet hands. Brass, Motel caliber, fusee with chain, stopwork, Harrison’s maintaining power, Louis Berthoud-type pivoted detent escapement beating 18,000 per hour, the balance and escape wheel jewelled, four-arm bimetallic compensation balance, four trapezoidal weights with gold and platinum temperature and timing adjustment screws, blued steel conical balance spring, stud with jawed collet, Motel’s mechanism for stopping the balance activated and deactivated by two pins in the dial plate edge. Dial and movement signed, box numbered. Dim. 13 x 16 x 16 cm. Notes For a biography of Henri Motel, see previous lot. “Chronometre a Suspension” No. 212 can be counted amongst Henri Motel’s finest marine ch
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2007-10-14
