$59,000
"Skeletonized Minute Repeater" International Watch Co. , Schaffhausen, "Portuguese - Skeletonized Minute Repeater”, No. 17/50, Ref. 5241. Made in a limited edition of 50 pieces circa 2006. Very fine and rare, oversized, skeletonized, minute-repeating, 18K pink gold wristwatch with an 18K pink gold IWC deployant clasp. Accompanied by the original wooden box, certificate, and spare leather strap. Three-body, solid, polished and brushed, transparent case back, concave bezel and lugs, sapphire crystals. Skeletonized with outer minute track on a plain reserve. Pink gold "feuille" hands. Notes What is a Minute Repeater? A minute repeating watch tells the time both visually and audibly. A slide on the side of the case, usually near the 9, will activate two hammers in the movement. These hammers strike two gongs curled within the case. First one hammer strikes a gong of lower tonality; it will count out the hours. Then both hammers will strike both gongs alternatively to count out the quarter hours after that hour, and then the second hammer alone striking a gong of higher tonality will count out the minutes after that quarter hour. The repeating mechanism was developed by Daniel Quare. In 1687, he had patented a mechanism that sounded the hours and the quarter hours. The early repeaters used bells. At the end of the 18th century, two bent-wire gongs became the more popular mechanism. In 1892, the first minute repeater wristwatch was produced by Omega, a model with a round
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2007-09-26
