Swiss gold and enamel keyless lever chronograph circa 1908

Gold and enamel open faced chronograph by Patek Philippe
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A Swiss 18 carat gold and enamel open faced chronograph keyless lever watch, circa 1908. Nickel finished jewelled lever movement, bimetallic compensation balance. Gold cuvette. White enamel dial with Arabic numerals, outer red Arabic fifth seconds divisions and subsidiary seconds. Engine turned case, chronograph operated through the crown, locking mechanism in the band, hinged case back with black enamel monogram. Case, cuvette, dial and movement signed, case and movement numbered.
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Diameter: 49.5 mm
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Signed: Patek, Philippe & Cie Genève
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Former collection of Gerd-Rüdiger Lang
Gerd-Rüdiger Lang, master watchmaker and founder of Chronoswiss. Carefully selected for its escapement and other technical movement feature(s), this watch pays tribute to his main passion, the mechanical chronograph. Lang learned the watchmaker’s trade at Jauns watch shop in his hometown Braunschweig, followed by an apprenticeship. In 1964 he moved to Switzerland and started as a watchmaker at the Heuer stopwatch and chronograph factory in Bienne, Switzerland. He stayed with Heuer until 1979 and during his fifteen years with the firm he participated at the filming of Le Mans with Steve McQueen and acted as an official timekeeper during various Formula One races.
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In 1980, he completed the school for master craftspeople in Würzburg, Germany, followed by the foundation of a special workshop for chronographs in Munich in 1981. The year after he introduced the world’s first mechanical chronograph with moon phase display and mineral crystal display back, emphasizing for him the most important component of a watch: the movement. This highly innovative model was baptized Chronoswiss, name of the watch company he established in 1983. With the foundation of Chronoswiss, Lang contributed to the renaissance of mechanical timepieces, his commitment to the making of extraordinary watches paying tribute to this centuries old trade. Distinguished by its small production numbers and the various world premieres, awards and patents obtained, the small German company is recognized among watch connoisseurs around the world for the exquisitely craftsmanship and innovative design.