Swiss silver watch with one minute tourbillon regulator Circa 1906

Silver lever with visible tourbillon
–
A Swiss silver open faced centre seconds keyless lever pocket watch, circa 1906. With a patented one minute tourbillon and regulator dial after the Fallet brother’s August 25th, 1905 patent. An engine turned case, the back centred with a glazed aperture to view the tourbillon. White enamel regulator dial, eccentric time indication in the upper half with radial Roman numerals, minute divisions and blued steel spade hands, an outer minute track, Arabic five minute numerals and outermost fifth of a second track. A gilt brass full plate movement centred with the revolving one minute tourbillon carriage, beneath an engraved gilt bridge, a straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance, self compensating flat balance spring and index regulator. Dial signed, movement inscribed with the Swiss Patent number.
–
Diameter: 53 mm
–
Signed: Fureur Tourbillon
–
L&E. Fallet Fils in Saint-Imier, Swiss watch manufacturers
L&E. Fallet Fils was founded by Louis Fallet and his son Edouard. After Louis passed away, Edouard continued the business. The company was known for manufacturing tourbillon watches of the A-type (a carrousel ). In 1888, they received an Honorable Mention at the National Watch Exhibition in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
–
In 1905, the company received Swiss Patent No. 34394 for a tourbillon. Edouard Fallet avoided the fact that he placed the tourbillon on an axis in the center of the watch, patented by the French Paul Loichot from Charquemont (Doubs) on June 11th, 1904, in Switzerland under No. 30754 and in which the fact that the bogie was visible on the dial side was part of the claim. But presumably, Paul Loichot intervened against the granted patent and patent No. 34394 was declared invalid on April 30th, 1908.
–
Other companies could license these movements or use movements that were supplied by Fallet. For example, Invicta and Courvoisier Frères in La Chaux-de-Fonds or Fureur & Cie in Geneva , which was registered on December 19th, 1903 by Edouard Fallet. From Courvoisier Frères, some of these watches are known under the brand name Mobilis with different patents. Swiss Patent No. 34394 but also Swiss Patent No. 30754 and 19062.
–
Tourbillon
In horology, a tourbillon is an addition to the mechanics of a watch escapement to increase accuracy. It was developed around 1795 and patented by the French-Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet on June 26th, 1801. In a tourbillon, the escapement and balance wheel are mounted in a rotating cage to negate gravity’s effects when the timepiece (thus the escapement) is stuck in a certain position. The tourbillon averages out positional errors by continuously rotating the entire balance wheel/escapement assembly at a slow rate (typically about one revolution per minute).