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Lot Essay
Well preserved and of impressive size, this unusual and complicated watch by Charles Ami Lecoultre has the rare feature of a direct "diablotine" or jumping quarter seconds mechanism.
The highly-finished movement is engraved with Ami Lecoultre’s patent dates of Jan. 4, 1887 and Sept. 2, 1890 which refer to U.S. patent numbers 355408 and 435699 for an improvement in stop-watches which is described as:
“The object of my present invention is to connect the split-second hand and its train operating mechanism with the second-hand or with the second-hand and minute-hand in order that the said hands may move in unison with the split-second hand. These hands and their connecting-gears are all started simultaneously by the first movement of a pushpin and are stopped by a brake-lever that is brought in contact with the surface of one of said gears, said brake-lever being operated by the second movement of a push-pin, and a lever and heart-cam are employed for returning the second and minute hands simultaneously to their normal or Zero position, and they are operated by the third movement of a push-pin simultaneously with the disengagement of the split-second mechanism.”
Charles Ami Lecoultre (1843-1921) was a very gifted watchmaker. He worked with the great Louis Elisée and Henry Daniel Piguet from 1881 and specialized in high complication watches.
The highly-finished movement is engraved with Ami Lecoultre’s patent dates of Jan. 4, 1887 and Sept. 2, 1890 which refer to U.S. patent numbers 355408 and 435699 for an improvement in stop-watches which is described as:
“The object of my present invention is to connect the split-second hand and its train operating mechanism with the second-hand or with the second-hand and minute-hand in order that the said hands may move in unison with the split-second hand. These hands and their connecting-gears are all started simultaneously by the first movement of a pushpin and are stopped by a brake-lever that is brought in contact with the surface of one of said gears, said brake-lever being operated by the second movement of a push-pin, and a lever and heart-cam are employed for returning the second and minute hands simultaneously to their normal or Zero position, and they are operated by the third movement of a push-pin simultaneously with the disengagement of the split-second mechanism.”
Charles Ami Lecoultre (1843-1921) was a very gifted watchmaker. He worked with the great Louis Elisée and Henry Daniel Piguet from 1881 and specialized in high complication watches.