Swiss 18k Repeater Chronograph Diamond Ruby HorseRacing / Bet Motif Pocket Watch

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Swiss 18k Repeater Chronograph Diamond Ruby HorseRacing / Bet Motif Pocket Watch

About the Item

An Extremely Rare & Impressive High Grade Swiss Large 18kt Hunting Case 1900s Repeating Chronograph with Special Order Diamond & Ruby Set Horse Racing & Gambling Horseshoe Raised Relief Motif Case Design Pocket Watch by Fabrique Angélus, movement Ebauche attributed to LeCoultre BASIC DETAILS & SPECIFICATIONS - Hunting Case Design - 55mm Width across x 75mm tall measurement from bottom of case to top of bow - Fully signed Case, Dial Movement and serial numbered correctly for period - Perfect Working Condition & Recently Serviced *Please do not hesitate to ask if you would to see Video of it running SPECIAL ORDER DESIGN CONCEPT ⁃18kt two tone rose gold and yellow gold case design concept ⁃Rose gold Half-moon pusher located at the 11 position on case ⁃Rose gold pusher located at the 3 position on case, Additional Rose gold accents to crown and bow as well -Front Cover specially engraved with high relief gold workmanship Horse Racing & Gambling motif: Horseshoe Designed with 13 old mine cut Diamonds graduated in size and Jockey Horse Whip with 11 Ruby(s) also gradated in size ENAMEL HAND PAINTED DIAL ⁃Breguet numeral numbering system with subsidiary seconds dial located at 6 and additional outer register minutes all enamel hand painted in black in perfect condition ⁃18kt Pink Gold Hand Cut Fancy Style hands and black center sweep hand COMPLICATIONS & MECHANISM The Movement present in this timepiece is based on the Swiss invention patent No. 12 172, delivered on April 15, 1896, to Stolz Frères, Le Locle, for a “Régulateur silencieux, pour sonnerie de montres à répétition” attributed to ebauche movement by Lecoultre. And is the Award-winning Repeating timekeeper in two world fair expositions the Milan World Fair 1906 & the Liege (Belgium) World Fair 1905 - indicated on present pocket watch cuvette which the watch brand created their legendary reputation as a result of the present timepiece winning the brands most important competitions at its creation because they beat the best brands in two of the most competitive regions. It is also in all the advertisements back then and I have included the certificate on the post. Housed by its specially ordered fully hallmarked large impressive 18kt gold case, a Caliber 20” lever escapement with Quarter-repeater on two steel gongs, 1/5 second chronograph Operates which is further activated by the rectangular push-piece located on the case-band at 6 CATALOG NOTE The Motif: Horse Racing & Gambling (specially ordered) *indicated By the Raised Relief Ruby& Diamond Set Horseshoe & Jockey Whip on the Front Cover During the 1600s, horse racing was popular in England. As British colonists began arriving in the New World, they brought this sport to America. Initially, the races were simple in nature, involving just two horses and riders racing over longer distances. These sprint races were eventually outlawed because pedestrians were being run over. People began using a select few horse breeds for racing. Breeding created the Narragansett Pacer, which was a popular horse among colonists. A racetrack was built and began operating in 1665 in what is now known as Nassau County, New York. The line of the American Quarter Horse originated during the 1750s when the foundation sire named "Janus" was shipped to Virginia. The foundation sire of the Thoroughbred breed, named "Messenger," arrived in the United States in 1788. Horse racing became popular in Virginia with an abundance of stud farms operating to produce racehorses. A few horse racing tracks existed in the northern regions of the United States, but generally Americans in the North did not participate in the sport of horse racing to the same extent that Southerners did. Many horse jockeys in the South were slaves. Although these jockeys remained slaves, some of them gained an elite status as they experienced success as jockeys. Long-distance racing became popular during the 1800s, with racecourses spanning distances ranging between 10 and 40 miles. After the U.S. Civil War, the southern states could not continue horse racing at the same level due to the ravages of war. Horse racing moved north, and it took off at greater speeds than ever before. Jockeys who were former slaves continued to be active in the sport of horse racing. Over 300 racetracks were operating throughout the United States by 1890. The American Jockey Club was created in 1894. This organization was the governing authority over horse racing, and it was instrumental in eliminating corruption from the sport. The Kentucky Derby originated in 1875. Legislation that prohibited gambling virtually stopped horse racing in the early 1900s in the exact timeframe this repeating watch was produced making its commission extremely significant example. By 1910, only three states continued to allow betting on horse races. With the onset of the depression, the government began searching for any means of stimulating the economy. Simultaneously as horse racing and gambling were being outlawed, during the late 1800s and into the early 1900s there were very sophisticated world exhibitions being held in the world’s major cities that allowed the world’s most elite and brilliant watchmakers, engineers and designers to compete against one another in their respected fields. The present example is one of the award winning designs engineered for the victory in two world fairs both Milan and Liege which during that time were considered the most competitive locations for complicated chronograph and repeating pocket watches with this mechanism in Europe as the present example would have competed against and beat the leading houses commissions made by such firms as Alange Sohne, Glashutte, Patek, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron and even more as the repeating chronograph class was considered one of the most difficult to win overall and also in these regions further demonstrating a testament to the superior quality the present example’s engineering as a timekeeping device. In addition to the master engineering which contributed to the timekeeping capabilities, the present example is as aesthetically beautiful to the eye as the attention detail paid to the intricate underpinnings of the mechanism’s precision making it all around a beautiful work of art and incredibly rare for this period given its motif. During this timeframe extremely repeating Swiss pocket watches had a motif design of horse racing and gambling as the main element was always the mechanism during competitions and would have to be specially ordered by an important client willing to pay for such additional workmanship. However, the present example stands out from all the other leading repeating Swiss pocket watches as it is not only a precision winning instrument, but also gem set with ruby and diamond and additional gold workmanship to design a horseshoe and whip on the exterior of the case and various accents of pink gold for further decor. By observation it is Clear that this piece was an extremely important commission with immense attention to detail applied to it both to the exterior case which is gem set and specifically made to order and the two-tone accents as well as the completely genius engineering applied to the timepiece’s mechanism. However, the dial is also a beautiful work of art as it is extremely well preserved with a hand painted enamel Breguet numeral dial which is in near perfect condition with elaborate outer black registers, subsidiary seconds window at the 6 and lovely hand cut pink gold fancy hand cut hands which only add further to the workmanship that went it its creation. For even the most avid of collectors, gem set racing and gambling motif repeating chronographs is a true trophy because it is so unique to only this period and one of the best timing instruments in its class to add to any collection and overall, the exhibited horse motif style is one of the most sought after themes in pocket watch collecting generally. For additional, images, video or questions please do not hesitate to ask THE PRESENT REPEATER COMPLICATION MECHANISM EXPLAINED & WHY THE PRESENT REPEATER SOUND IS NOTEABLY LOUDER & MORE SUBSTANTIAL CHIMER ONCE ACTIVATED Before electricity, it was impossible to check the time without a light source available or in war at night be able to coordinate a military attack because a light to see the time would give away position. The only way to know the time was to own a clock or watch with a repeater complication. Repeaters sound the time on demand in an audible format, using bells or gongs. The particular angelus here uses a high frequency sounding gong that is considered the most premier examples of its kind. Different versions of repeaters indicate the time in increasingly accurate ways and the present example is the most accurate example of its time because it was used to time trial horses. The need to hear it was crucial because one would also want to watch the race at the same time not looking down at the dial which is why the angelus example where is so valuable because it has to be made even louder so that it can be heard while at the racetrack over the loud surrounding noises. The quarter repeater here indicates time accurate to the quarter hour. Repeaters consist of four mechanical systems working together. The winding works, gear train and escapement, racks and snails, and hammers and gongs. In a watch, a repeater is usually activated by a slide or pusher on the side. This element serves two distinct purposes. First, it activates the repeater mechanism. Second, it winds a small mainspring, separate from the mainspring the watch uses to power the movement. A repeater needs a substantial amount of torque to run and with a larger case it requires even more power so bigger repeaters such as this example are extremely difficult to produce because the watchmaker needs to make sure enough power is produced to run correctly. If the repeater were powered from the watch’s primary mainspring, it would cause a drop in amplitude in the balance, resulting in a loss of accuracy so to be extremely Accurate and loud as this example is makes its one of the rarest examples one can collect of its kind. Just like the main movement in a watch, a repeater needs its own gear train and escapement to transmit power from its mainspring to the rest of the mechanism. The repeater escapement has the unique requirement of being quiet in order to not disturb the sound the hammers make when striking the gongs. To achieve this, a centrifugal governor is used. The governor can be compared to the spinning of an ice skater. When the ice skater spreads their arms, they slow their spin. A governor has two arms on pivots, with weights near the end. As the gear train turns the governor quickly, its arms spread out to equalize the rate of spin, and act as an escapement. Also due to the size the larger examples require a larger arm and also extra careful precision timing to account for the extra distance it will need to in the case to spread out at. A series of snails connected to the motion works are used to indicate the correct amount of hammer strikes for hours, quarters and minutes. The snails are specially shaped cams with steps. The hour snail has 12 steps, the quarter snail 4, and the minute snail 14. These steps are used to stop the movement of the rack at the correct place. The rack is activated when the gear train starts running, and it moves until it touches its corresponding snail. The hammers strike the gongs to sound out the time. The racks have teeth that match the maximum amount of hammer strikes that could happen. These teeth trip the hammers as they pass, causing the hammer to strike the gongs. The gongs are thin steel wires, shaped in a circle to encompass the movement. Different lengths of these gongs produce different tones. The present example is designed with an extremely rare length of gongs to produce a highly specific much louder tone so that it can be used in a horse racetrack or casino where people gamble and cannot take their eyes off to look the horse race or their cards but still need to know what time it is hence why this angelus repeater is so rare and sought after ANGELUS THE LEGENDARY WATCHMAKING FIRM FOR ACCURACY: ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION Angelus specifically is renowned for their watchmaking that focused specifically on horse racing since it was the fastest tim e trial to test. The new world speed became a watchmaker’s passion translated into horse racing as a result and made these specific examples extremely popular items at the racetracks where horse racing was considered the most competitive in the world. In 1898 Angelus the name got its inspiration for branding because of the especially loud ringing that the mechanism deploys which collectors often equate to church bells which were used throughout history to give the town square the time of day. Eventually Angelus m ovement technology was so accurate that into the 1930s and 40s Panerai bought their company and designed their famous diver watches case designs with angelus watch calibers as a result. These became known as the prototypes to Panerais diver’s chronograph “mare nostrum” with Angelus being responsible for the most accurate timing devices in chronograph timing as the shift to wristwatches occurred from pocke t watches. Also, interesting to note, in 1914 because angelus was so accurate as a timing device, the director of Angelus also became the director of the French army under general marshal Joffre who assist them with timing devices that can help win the war, so the present timepiece is a very interesting rare and historically important timepiece on a variety of levels and the only known example ever to be offered at public.

Creator:
Angelus
Case Material:
18k Gold
Stone:
Diamond,Ruby
Stone Cut:
Old European Cut
Case Dimensions:
Height: 2.76 in (70 mm)Width: 2.17 in (55 mm)
Style:
Belle Époque
Place of Origin:
Switzerland
Period:
1890-1899
Date of Manufacture:
1890-1900
Condition:
Seller Location:
New york, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1212310203182