Swiss center seconds one minute tourbillon lever Circa 1906
- Kenmerk
- BA1543
- Diameter
- 53 mm
- Estimate
- € 2.000 - 4.000
- Price sold
- € 2.150
Silver open faced keyless lever watch by L&E. Fallet Fils
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A fine and rare Swiss silver open faced center seconds keyless lever pocket watch with a patented one minute tourbillon and regulator dial, circa 1906. Gilt brass full plate movement centred with the revolving one minute tourbillon carriage beneath an engraved gilt bridge, a straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance, self compensating flat balance spring and index regulator. White enamel dial, small eccentric time indication in the upper half with radial Roman hour numerals, minute divisions and original blued steel spade hands, an outer minute track, Arabic five minute numerals and outermost fifth of a second track. An engine turned case, the back centred with a glazed aperture to view the tourbillon. Dial signed, movement with Swiss Patent number.
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Diameter: 53 mm
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Signed: L&E. Fallet Fils Saint-Imier
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L&E. Fallet Fils in Saint-Imier, Swiss watch manufacturers
L&E. Fallet Fils was founded by Louis Fallet and his son Edouard. After Louis passed away, Edouard continued the business. The company was known for manufacturing tourbillon watches of the A-type (a carrousel ). In 1888, they received an Honorable Mention at the National Watch Exhibition in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
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In 1905, the company received Swiss Patent No. 34394 for a tourbillon. Edouard Fallet avoided the fact that he placed the tourbillon on an axis in the center of the watch, patented by the French Paul Loichot from Charquemont (Doubs) on June 11th, 1904, in Switzerland under No. 30754 and in which the fact that the bogie was visible on the dial side was part of the claim. But presumably, Paul Loichot intervened against the granted patent and patent No. 34394 was declared invalid on April 30th, 1908.
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Other companies could license these movements or use movements that were supplied by Fallet. For example, Invicta and Courvoisier Frères in La Chaux-de-Fonds or Fureur & Cie in Geneva , which was registered on December 19th, 1903 by Edouard Fallet. From Courvoisier Frères, some of these watches are known under the brand name Mobilis with different patents. Swiss Patent No. 34394 but also Swiss Patent No. 30754 and 19062.
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Tourbillon
In horology, a tourbillon is an addition to the mechanics of a watch escapement to increase accuracy. It was developed around 1795 and patented by the French-Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet on June 26th, 1801. In a tourbillon, the escapement and balance wheel are mounted in a rotating cage to negate gravity’s effects when the timepiece (thus the escapement) is stuck in a certain position. The tourbillon averages out positional errors by continuously rotating the entire balance wheel/escapement assembly at a slow rate (typically about one revolution per minute).
Signed: L. & E. Fallet Fils Saint-Imier













