French gold chronograph with tachometer and telemeter Circa 1910

Gold lever pocket watch with open face by Joseph Auricoste
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A fine, French 18 carat gold keyless pocket watch with rare dial and chronograph, circa 1910. This watch features a straight line, gold plated lever movement with a column wheel chronograph, lever escapement, monometallic balance, blued steel Breguet balance spring, and index regulator. It showcases a beautifully rare enamel dial with printed Arabic numerals, an inner scale for 24 hours, a 1/5th second chronograph scale, subsidiary sunk dials for seconds at 6 and a 15 minute register at 12, an outer tachometer, three multicoloured telemeter scales, a lap counter, and blued steel pear shaped hands. The chronograph functions with a single button on the winding crown. The case is made of 18 carat gold, with a hinged case back, bezel, and cuvette.
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Diameter: 50 mm
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Weight: 80 g
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Signed: Aural J. Auricoste
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Joseph Auricoste, French watchmaker and watch dealer
Joseph Auricoste was born on January 15, 1880, in Mende, France. He was the son of Noël François Auricoste (1844-1909) and Marie Antoinette Élisabeth Anne Bardon (1850-after 1909). Mende is a commune in the Lozère department in the Occitanie region in France. He moved to Sceaux near Paris at 2 Rue de Haudan.
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Joseph Auricoste moved to Paris where he attended the Ecole d’Horlogerie et Mécanique Précision in Paris at 30 Rue Manin. Auguste Hilaire Rodanet was very happy with the results of Auricoste, receiving the Prix Eugene Duprez, a prize of 870 francs, as well as a silver medal.
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Joseph Auricoste married Jeanne Weerts (1883-1972) in Paris on February 5, 1907, and moved to Sceaux, near Paris, to 2 Rue de Haudan. From this marriage 3 children were born, Emmanuel Auricoste (1908-1995) Marie-thérèse Auricoste ( 1909-?) and Pierre Auricoste (1916-?) . Emmanuel Auricoste became a well known French sculptor and medal designer. He becomes a professor at l’École national supérieure des arts décoratifs. His artistry is not so foreign; he was the grandson of the painter Jean Joseph Weerts. The family moved to Sceaux near Paris at 2 Rue de Haudan.
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During the First World War, in 1917, Joseph was named a Knight in the Legion of Honour on July 10. But it became effective on May 12, 1922. On December 25, 1926, he was then called an officer.
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In 1898, Joseph Auricoste worked alongside Émile Thomas, whose company was founded in 1854 as the Thomas Watch Company. The company was renamed Thomas-Auricoste. A few years later, Joseph took over the company, and it was subsequently renamed Auricoste. The shop was located at 10 Rue La Boétie, where Émile Thomas had previously worked. Pierre Auricoste later became the successor of the company.
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Joseph Auricoste passed away on June 25, 1960, at the age of 80.