Live Auction 1410Important Watches
Louis Audemars. A fine, rare and early 18K gold openface full calendar keyless lever watch with moon phases, made for the Russian market
Lot 101

Louis Audemars. A fine, rare and early 18K gold openface full calendar keyless lever watch with moon phases, made for the Russian market

SIGNED LOUIS AUDEMARS, BRASSUS (SUISSE), NO. 10'966, RETAILED BY PAUL BUHRÉ, ST. PETERSBURG, CIRCA 1869

Closed9 November 2015

Price Realised

CHF 18,750

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Louis Audemars. A fine, rare and early 18K gold openface full calendar keyless lever watch with moon phases, made for the Russian market
Signed Louis Audemars, Brassus (Suisse), No. 10'966, retailed by Paul Buhré, St. Petersburg, circa 1869
Nickel-finished fully jewelled movement, Audemars counterpoised lever or "Bishop's crook pallet", bimetallic compensation balance, wolf's tooth winding, gold cuvette, white enamel dial, Roman numerals, window for month, three subsidiary dials for day, date and moon phases combined with constant seconds and lunar calendar, engine-turned circular case, case stamped with Louis Audemars hallmark and casemaker's initials M.F. for Meylan Frères and numbered, cuvette signed Paul Buhré, St. Pétersbourg, and Louis Audemars, Brassus (Suisse) and numbered, movement signed and numbered
55 mm. diam.

Specialist note

The present watch is a fine example of a complicated timepiece made by Louis Audemars and sold by his representative in Russia, Paul Buhré, the official supplier to the Russian Court. To please the Tsar, wealthy Russian bourgeoisie and the Russian Orthodox church, he used a special hallmark for watches destined for this market: the double cross of Lorraine resembling the double cross of the Orthodox church above the heart containing the letters "L.A.". In fact, the firm Louis Audemars supplied many complicated watches of highest quality to the Russian court and to wealthy citizens, particularly in St. Petersburg, and was given an award for the excellence of their timepieces by the Imperial Palace.

This watch furthermore features Louis Audemars' early pendant winding and hand-setting mechanism, developed by Hector Audemars in 1838 (see Louis-Benjamin Audemars - His Life and Work by Hartmut Zantke, p. 131), and his counterpoised lever, also called "Bishop's crook lever" (p. 192, pl.T92, op. cit).