105th Auction

2021/11/13

Lot 52

Lange & Söhne

An important, very fine and extremely rare Glashuette hunting case pocket watch with carousel - sold to Wilhelm Lenger company in Hamburg on April 22, 1914 for 804 Marks - manufactured in quality 1A - with original box and Lange extract from the archives

estimated
50.00080.000 €
Price realized
-
specific features
Case
18 K pink gold, engine-turned, monogram "GN".
Dial
Enamel.
Movement
3/4 plate movement, engraving "D.R.G.M. 121267", gold screw compensation balance.
Case no.45419
Diam.60 mm
Circa1914
Ctry.Germany
Wt.174 g


Only a total of 37 Lange & Söhne carousel watches in gold cases were made. The massive and heavy watch presented here impresses with its exceptionally immaculate state of preservation.
"Carousel" watches are a design by the Danish watchmaker B. Bonniksen, who registered the patent in 1892 in England. His intention was to create a compromise between the "expensive" tourbillon and a normal chronometer - and he actually achieved better results with his carousel than some of the tourbillons. In 1899 Richard Lange improved the design and received a protection of utility patents D.R.G.M 121267 for it. The escapement in a carousel with auxiliary seconds turns around itself in 52,5 minutes, and thus avoids the variation caused by gravity.