Swiss 18 carat white gold complicated lever watch Circa 1912

White gold Art Deco pocket watch
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An important Swiss 18 carat white gold and enamel open faced minute repeating keyless split second chronograph pocket watch with perpetual calendar, 60 minute register, and phases and age of the moon made by Audemars Piguet in Geneva, circa 1912. This watch was made in 1912, completed in 1923 and in February 1924, sold to E. Gübelin in Lucerne for CHF 3300. It has a solid, plain case decorated with a Greek black enamel pattern and the inlaid black enamel initials W.M.H. Jr. on the back cover.
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A silvered dial with Arabic hours, an outer minute track with Arabic five minute numerals and an outermost fifth of a second track, blued steel hands and four subsidiary dials for the small seconds with concentric moon phases, the date, days of the week and months of the year. The rhodium plated movement with Geneva striping decoration, 35 jewels, wolf’s tooth winding, a straight line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance with peripheral gold temperature and meantime adjustment screws, blued steel Breguet balance spring, swan neck micrometer regulator and visible steel chronograph work, the repeating on two gongs activated by a slide on the band. Movement, dial and case are signed by the retailer.
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Diameter: 49 mm
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Signed: Audemars Piguet  Geneva
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Accompanied by an Audemars Piguet certificate of authenticity.
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The complicated watches of Audemars Piguet were highly prized by companies such as Gübelin because their movements were thin and well-suited to the dress watches that were popular in the early 20th century.

To date, approximately 10 watches from this series are known, most in yellow gold and a small number in white gold. The watch with the preceding number (13927) to the present watch, also in an identical white gold case, is illustrated in Audemars Piguet, Brunner, Pfeiffer-Belli, Wehrli, 1993, p. 154 and was sold by Antiquorum in Geneva on October 14th, 1990 as lot 86. The watch with the following number (13929) was sold by Antiquorum in Geneva, November 12th, 2006 as lot 54.