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Lot Essay
This fine and highly attractive watch is by one of the greatest watchmakers of the 18th century and would have been considered absolutely avant-garde when it was made in the years immediately preceding the French Revolution. It is a prime example of the work of Jean-Antoine Lepine (1720-1814) watchmaker to Louis XV, Louis XVI and Napoleon Bonaparte, and exhibits several of his most notable horological inventions.
The inscription "Invenit et Fecit" refers to the revolutionary movement design, known today as "Lepine caliber" which employes bridges in place of a full plate covering the entire mechanism, as well as to the standing mainspring barrel and improved repetition system. It also includes the highly individualistic dial design, his invention of concealed hinges, as well as the "secret" back cover opening mechanism.
The movement of this watch illustrates all the characteristics associated with Lepine's work. According to research, Lepine made his first watches with wolf's-tooth trains in 1771, but it was mainly between 1787 and 1789 that he used this train for watches numbered between 5200 and 5711.
Perhaps the feature that immediately catches the eye when examining the present watch is the stunning and curious way the numerals are arranged with a complete mixture of both Arabic and Roman numerals. This dial arrangement appears to be unique to Lepine and is only seen on some of his watches made between 1788 and 1790. No explanation has been found as to the reason for the production of these dials other than the fact that Lepine was obsessed with aesthetics and indeed these dials are a hyper-sophisticated creation. Lepine was in fact the first maker to use Arabic numerals on dials for the hours as well as for the minutes and the first horologist to have concentrated on aesthetic design, in the modern sense of the word, on watches. This was continued by Breguet.
For another example of a Lepine watch with mixed numerals dial see: Jean-Antoine Lepine, horloger 1720-1814" by Adolphe Chapiro, Paris, 1988, p. 70.
The inscription "Invenit et Fecit" refers to the revolutionary movement design, known today as "Lepine caliber" which employes bridges in place of a full plate covering the entire mechanism, as well as to the standing mainspring barrel and improved repetition system. It also includes the highly individualistic dial design, his invention of concealed hinges, as well as the "secret" back cover opening mechanism.
The movement of this watch illustrates all the characteristics associated with Lepine's work. According to research, Lepine made his first watches with wolf's-tooth trains in 1771, but it was mainly between 1787 and 1789 that he used this train for watches numbered between 5200 and 5711.
Perhaps the feature that immediately catches the eye when examining the present watch is the stunning and curious way the numerals are arranged with a complete mixture of both Arabic and Roman numerals. This dial arrangement appears to be unique to Lepine and is only seen on some of his watches made between 1788 and 1790. No explanation has been found as to the reason for the production of these dials other than the fact that Lepine was obsessed with aesthetics and indeed these dials are a hyper-sophisticated creation. Lepine was in fact the first maker to use Arabic numerals on dials for the hours as well as for the minutes and the first horologist to have concentrated on aesthetic design, in the modern sense of the word, on watches. This was continued by Breguet.
For another example of a Lepine watch with mixed numerals dial see: Jean-Antoine Lepine, horloger 1720-1814" by Adolphe Chapiro, Paris, 1988, p. 70.