Swiss rose gold split seconds lever chronograph Circa 1892

Rose gold open faced chronograph by Patek Philippe
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A fine Swiss 18 carat rose gold open faced keyless lever split seconds chronograph pocket watch, circa 1892. Retailed by Spaulding & Co, Chicago. Nickel finished jewelled lever movement, bimetallic compensation balance. Inscribed rose gold cuvette. White enamel dial with Arabic numerals, outer red Arabic five minute divisions and subsidiary seconds. Plain case, split seconds chronograph mechanism operated through the crown and through a button in the band, locking mechanism in the band, monogrammed hinged back. Case and movement signed by watchmaker, cuvette, dial and movement signed by retailer, case and movement numbered.
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Diameter: 50 mm
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Signed: Patek, Philippe & Co Geneva
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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.