LOUIS AUDEMARS. A FINE AND RARE 18K GOLD OPEN FACE KEYLESS TWO TRAIN DUAL TIME INDEPENDENT DEAD SECONDS LEVER WATCH, ENGRAVED WITH A LIST OF THE TIME DIFFERENCE FROM THE MERIDIAN OF PARIS FOR NUMEROUS EUROPEAN CITIES1876
Sold for US$5,737.50 inc. premium
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Find your local specialistLOUIS AUDEMARS. A FINE AND RARE 18K GOLD OPEN FACE KEYLESS TWO TRAIN DUAL TIME INDEPENDENT DEAD SECONDS LEVER WATCH, ENGRAVED WITH A LIST OF THE TIME DIFFERENCE FROM THE MERIDIAN OF PARIS FOR NUMEROUS EUROPEAN CITIES
Movement: Highly jeweled gilt divided ¾ plate, wound by alternate turns of the crown, counterpoised escapement, bi metallic balance, overcoiled spring, hands set by means of a pair of pins adjacent the pendant, sweep seconds activated by slide in case band, no. 12041
Dial: White enamel, outer 60-seconds ring enclosing subsidiary dual time dials with continuous seconds at 6o'clock, gold hands
Case: With elaborate conjoined monogram, the cuvette engraved with the time difference in hours, minutes and seconds of 20 European cities
Size: 51mm
Accompaniments: With a Certificate confirming the authenticity of the watch and with a facsimile of the ledger page giving the details of its manufacture in 1876 for a cost of CHF 900.
Footnotes
Literature:
Hartmut Zantke. Louis Benjamin Audemars: The Rise and Fall of a Watchmaking Dynasty (2003) pp 322-323. Also recorded in Audemars' "Register of Superior Watches."
The present watch is a fine example of the dual time zone display, a signature complication of Louis Audemars two train watches. Paired here with independent seconds and calendar work, the feature is found in Audemars watches as early as the 1850's in combination with further refinements such as repeating, jumping seconds, a thermometer or a perpetual calendar. The utility of dual time zone watches became apparent in the mid 19th century with the growth of rapid railway travel and the telegraph. Ultimately divers local times gave way to of standard time zones based on longitude later in the century.
