Swiss gold chronograph with pulsometer scale Circa 1910

Gold doctor’s chronograph
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A very fine and rare Swiss 18 carat gold open faced keyless lever pocket watch with chronograph and pulsometer scale made by Patek Philippe in Geneva, circa 1910. Sold on November 5, 1929. Nickel plated movement with Geneva Striping decoration, 23 jewels, a straight line moustache lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel Breguet balance spring, a Patek Philippe patented micrometric cam index and chronograph with visible work. Hinged gold cuvette. White enamel dial with Arabic hours, an outer minute and fifths of a second track with five minute numerals, an outermost red pulsometer scale graduated to 30 pulsations, subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock and blued steel spade hands. The polished case with an engraved central monogram on the back, a co-axial button in the crown for the start/stop and return-to-zero functions of the chronograph and a bolt at 11 o’clock to lock the chronograph. Dial and cuvette signed, case and movement signed and numbered. Accompanied by an Extract from the Archives.
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Diameter: 50 mm
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Signed: Patek, Philippe & Cie Genève-Suisse
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A chronograph watch with a pulsations scale on the dial is called a ‘doctor’s watch’. It helps doctors cut down on the time necessary to gauge a person’s pulse and, more importantly, reduce errors. The doctor would simply start the chronograph, count 30 heartbeats and then stop the chronograph to see the patient’s pulse per minute on the red scale without further calculations.