Swiss complicated lever made for the Russian market Circa 1910

Gold repeating triple calendar chronograph by Le Phare
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A fine and large Swiss 14 carat (56 Zolotnik) rose gold hunting cased minute repeating chronograph keyless lever pocket watch with triple calendar and moon phases made for the Russian market, circa 1910. Lever movement. White enamel dial with Roman hours, an outer minute track with fifths of a second chronograph divisions and Arabic five second numerals, auxiliary seconds at 6 o’clock combined with the phases of the moon, a subsidiary dial for the date at 12, apertures for the days and months in Cyrillic, gilt Louis XIV hands. Plain case. Case numbered, cuvette signed.
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Diameter: 60 mm
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Signed: Le Phare
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A zolotnik was a small Russian unit of weight equal to 0.1505 avoirdupois ounces, or 4.2658 grams (about 65.83 grains). Used from the 10th to 20th centuries, its name is derived from the Russian word zoloto, meaning gold.
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Le Phare. The company was originally founded by Charles Barbezat-Baillot (1847-1938) and Henry Guye (1838-1877) under the name Guye & Barbezat in Le Locle, Switzerland, high in the Neuchâtel mountains. In 1888, the firm’s name was changed to Le Phare, being the registered name of their complicated watches.

The company, which later launched the Jean d’Eve watch range, has left its mark on the story of Swiss watchmaking. Indeed, from 1889, its watches were rewarded by the most eminent prizes, a gold medal at the National Exhibition of 1896 in Geneva followed that of 1889 at the Great Universal Exhibition in Paris. In 1897 the silent regulator was invented. A veritable technological marvel that overcame the humming problems beset the repeater watches of the day. This brought another gold medal for Le Phare at the Paris Great Exhibition of 1900.

In 1900, the company advertised their brands that year as La Locloise, l’Esperanto, Le Phare, Tempora and La Volapuk. The company continued to develop and in 1970 was the second largest producer of chronograph watches in Switzerland. The management’s strategy is to maximise its remarkable know-how to develop new ways of measuring time.