CHEVALIER, PIGUET AND FRENCH. A LOT OF TWO OPENFACE KEYWOUND VERGE WATCHES AND A PIVOTED DETENT POCKET CHRONOMETER

THE FIRST SIGNED CHEVALIER, CIRCA 1790, THE SECOND SIGNED AUGUST PIGUET, CIRCA 1800, THE THIRD UNSIGNED, CIRCA 1820

Details

CHEVALIER, PIGUET AND FRENCH. A LOT OF TWO OPENFACE KEYWOUND VERGE WATCHES AND A PIVOTED DETENT POCKET CHRONOMETER
the first signed chevalier, circa 1790, the second signed august piguet, circa 1800, the third unsigned, circa 1820
The first with gilt-finished full-plate movement, pierced bridge, verge escapement, chain fusee, the white enamel dial with roman numerals, the 18K gold case with hinged movement, the second with nickel-finished jewelled pivoted detent chronometer movement, bi-metallic compensation balance, the white enamel dial with roman numerals, subsidiary seconds, the silver case with open back protected by a glass crystal, the third with gilt-finished full-plate quarter repeating verge movement, pierced bridge, the engine-turned dial with roman numerals, foliate motif to the center, silvered subsidiary seconds, blued steel moon-style hands, the 18K gold engine-turned case with push repeat in the crown, hinged back, the first and second movements signed, the first dial signed.
42 mm, 54 mm and 57 mm diam. (3)

Literature

Fried, Henry, B., The Museum of the American Watchmakers Institute, First Edition, exhibits P-22, 23 and 24.

Exhibited

The James W. Packard Collection of Unusual and Complicated Watches, an exposition by Henry B. Fried. Owned and Presented by The Horological Institute of America, 1959.

Lot Essay

James Ward Packard (1863-1928), the Ohio born engineer, inventor and manufacturer developed a keen interest in mechanics and electricity at a very early age. During the initial part of his career, he began to work in research and experimentation.
In 1889, James Packard and his brother started the Packard Electric Company and in the 1890's, Packard became interested in the "horseless carriage". In 1899, he successfully road tested his first car, leading to the manufacture of the Packard automobile. The company was reorganized as the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit in 1903.
Packard later devoted himself to consultancy work and as an avid collector of mechanical things, he amassed a collection of watches, known for their exquisite beauty and intricate mechanisms and considered one of the finest ever assembled by an individual.