Two train independent dead center seconds lever Circa 1872

Gold open faced by Louis Audemars
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A fine and rare Swiss 18-carat gold open faced two train independent dead centre seconds keyless lever watch, circa 1872. Gilt finished tandem wound two train lever movement, 35 jewels, bimetallic compensation balance. Gold cuvette. White enamel dial with Roman numerals and independent centre seconds. Case engine turned to the back with engraved initials. Case numbered, stamped with Louis Audemars hallmarks and MF for Meylan Frères, cuvette signed and numbered, movement signed. Comes with an original box.
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Diameter: 50.5 mm
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Signed: Ls. Audemars Brassus & Genève
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A former piece from the private collection of Theodor Beyer.
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Theodor Beyer
As the sixth-generation owner of one of the world’s leading watch retailers, Theodor Beyer was among the foremost figures on the international watch scene during the second half of the twentieth century. He was a broadly recognized scholar, an avid collector and brought together an exquisite range of timepieces that was to become the basis of the Clock and Watch Museum Beyer Zürich set up in 1970-1971.
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Born in 1926 into a family of watch dealers and watchmakers whose business has existed since 1760, Theodor was exposed to the world of horology from an early age. After training as a watchmaker in Solothurn, Switzerland and subsequently working for the Henry Stern Watch Agency in New York, the twenty-one-year-old Theodor joined the family business, Chronometrie Beyer, in 1947. Just eight years later upon the passing of his mother, he took charge of the firm, which has occupied the same building at Bahnhofstrasse 31 for more than eighty years.
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Theodor steered the family business through a period of transition in the watch industry when a shift in consumer tastes meant less demand for traditional pocket watches. Despite that change in the market, the firm prospered over time and Theodor enjoyed close ties and personal friendships with many of the figures behind the Swiss watch industry, including Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, and the Stern family, owners of Patek Philippe. He also travelled widely to auctions over the years and continued to expand his collection of timepieces. He passed away in 2002. The business is now run by his son René Beyer.