1,416 CHF
“Patented Auxilliary Compensation - Power Reserve Indication” Paul Ditisheim, “Solvil”, No. 716275. Made circa 1915. Fine and rare, 18K yellow gold keyless pocket watch with patented “affix” auxiliary compensation and power reserve indication. Four-body, “bassine”, polished, engine turned back. Hinged gold cuvette. White enamel with Arabic numerals, outer minute track, subsidiary seconds at 6, power reserve indication at 12. Blued steel “épée” hands. Notes Paul Ditisheim designed and patented small bimetallic straps affixed to monometallic balances. Watches equipped with them are today very rare. Solvil was founded early in 1920 to exploit Ditisheim's invention, which was offered as an alternative to precision watches fitted with the more expensive Guillaume balances. The current lot incorporates a special type of balance invented by renowned Swiss chronometer-maker Paul Ditisheim (1868-1945). He attached two small bimetallic blades, known as affix, to the rim of a monometallic balance. This affix carried several tiny screws, which could be switched around for fine adjustment of temperature compensation. For this reason, this type of balance is known as the affix balance. Ditisheim was also known as a tireless researcher, publishing several works on the influence of atmospheric pressure and magnetic fields on the performance of chronometers. Apart from his work leading to advances in temperature compensation, he was also a prominent figure in the introduction of modern
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2006-10-15
