97th Auction
2018/5/12
Lot 602
Brevets J. L. Reutter S.G.D.G, "Atmos", Pendule Perpétuelle, Case No. 5245, 240 x 175 x 145 mm, circa 1935
A fine and very rare, early Art Deco table clock
Case: chromium-plated, glazed on four sides and top. Dial: silvered. Movm.: chromium-plated, driven by changing air-pressure, torsion pendulum.
An early Atmos clock – a highly sought-after collector's piece in classic Art Deco style.
The inventor of the Atmos clock, Swiss engineer Jean-Léon Reutter (1899-1971), began experimenting with the use of mechanical energy from minute temperature and barometric variations for winding the mainspring of a clock. After developing the first prototypes in 1928, Reutter was issued a French patent in 1929. While the first examples were produced in France, Swiss manufactory Jaeger-LeCoultre produced the Atmos clock from 1945 on.
Source: www.watch-wiki.org/index.php?title=Jaeger-LeCoultre_Atmos, as of 02/22/2018
The horizontal arm of the U-shaped part and part of the vertical tubes are filled with mercury. The vacuum above the mercury contains a fast evaporating liquid and saturated vapour. One of the vertical parts is insulated while the other one is not. The insulation causes the temperature in that part to rise higher than in the other (uninsulated) part and a small amount of mercury is moved; this causes the U to change shape a little and wind the mainspring. A drop in the temperature has the same effect. Later models use an aneroid metal case that works like a barometer and causes mechanical shifts that wind the mainspring.
A fine and very rare, early Art Deco table clock
Case: chromium-plated, glazed on four sides and top. Dial: silvered. Movm.: chromium-plated, driven by changing air-pressure, torsion pendulum.
An early Atmos clock – a highly sought-after collector's piece in classic Art Deco style.
The inventor of the Atmos clock, Swiss engineer Jean-Léon Reutter (1899-1971), began experimenting with the use of mechanical energy from minute temperature and barometric variations for winding the mainspring of a clock. After developing the first prototypes in 1928, Reutter was issued a French patent in 1929. While the first examples were produced in France, Swiss manufactory Jaeger-LeCoultre produced the Atmos clock from 1945 on.
Source: www.watch-wiki.org/index.php?title=Jaeger-LeCoultre_Atmos, as of 02/22/2018
The horizontal arm of the U-shaped part and part of the vertical tubes are filled with mercury. The vacuum above the mercury contains a fast evaporating liquid and saturated vapour. One of the vertical parts is insulated while the other one is not. The insulation causes the temperature in that part to rise higher than in the other (uninsulated) part and a small amount of mercury is moved; this causes the U to change shape a little and wind the mainspring. A drop in the temperature has the same effect. Later models use an aneroid metal case that works like a barometer and causes mechanical shifts that wind the mainspring.
estimated
9.500—15.000 €
Price realized
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