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Lot Essay
This extraordinary 'Atmos du Millénaire Marqueterie' was issued at the end of the year 1999 in a limited edition of twenty-five to celebrate the third Millenium.
Three clocks of this series have been sold in the Netherlands.
With its 1000-year full calendar and perpetual air-driven movement Jaeger-LeCoultre wanted to start a '1000-year journey' beginning on January 1st 2000. The clock would serve as 'the precious receptacle of 1000 years of important moments, traditions, secrets and joys, which undoubtedly would flow through the tide of countless generations'. Therefore the secret drawer has been fitted with ten lacquered engraved bronze tubes each containing a parchment. With the gilded pen-holder and the further leather pouch holding a stick of solidified ink and a stone inkwell, the owner of this clock will be able to 'record significant family exploits or the grand hours of the millenium'.
As a significant record in the Atmos history, Jaeger-LeCoultre recorded all the names of the owners of these 'Atmos du Millénaire Marqueterie' clocks. Written down on parchment these names are stored in a sealed spherical glass container. This container is now in the private collection of the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre in Le Sentier, Switzerland.
The mechanism housed in the Atmos clock is a technical and watchmaking Tour de Force, nevertheless the principle is quite simple 'living on air' this mechanism eliminates the need for batteries, electric current or manual winding. An air-tight capsule contains a mixture of gas and liquid which expands when the temperature rises and contracts when it drops. Directly connected to the clock's mainspring, a concertina-like box witihin the capsule stretches or shrinks, thereby constantly winding the watch movement.
Jérôme Boutteçon, a master inlayer, received the French 1994 award as the nation's finest craftsman. The marquetrey of this clock contains around forty different species of wood.
Together with the original warranty certificate and instruction manual.
Three clocks of this series have been sold in the Netherlands.
With its 1000-year full calendar and perpetual air-driven movement Jaeger-LeCoultre wanted to start a '1000-year journey' beginning on January 1st 2000. The clock would serve as 'the precious receptacle of 1000 years of important moments, traditions, secrets and joys, which undoubtedly would flow through the tide of countless generations'. Therefore the secret drawer has been fitted with ten lacquered engraved bronze tubes each containing a parchment. With the gilded pen-holder and the further leather pouch holding a stick of solidified ink and a stone inkwell, the owner of this clock will be able to 'record significant family exploits or the grand hours of the millenium'.
As a significant record in the Atmos history, Jaeger-LeCoultre recorded all the names of the owners of these 'Atmos du Millénaire Marqueterie' clocks. Written down on parchment these names are stored in a sealed spherical glass container. This container is now in the private collection of the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre in Le Sentier, Switzerland.
The mechanism housed in the Atmos clock is a technical and watchmaking Tour de Force, nevertheless the principle is quite simple 'living on air' this mechanism eliminates the need for batteries, electric current or manual winding. An air-tight capsule contains a mixture of gas and liquid which expands when the temperature rises and contracts when it drops. Directly connected to the clock's mainspring, a concertina-like box witihin the capsule stretches or shrinks, thereby constantly winding the watch movement.
Jérôme Boutteçon, a master inlayer, received the French 1994 award as the nation's finest craftsman. The marquetrey of this clock contains around forty different species of wood.
Together with the original warranty certificate and instruction manual.