Important Swiss gold one minute tourbillon watch Circa 1950

Gold open faced lever with Guillaume balance
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An important Swiss 18 carat gold open faced lever pocket watch with one minute tourbillon, a graduate’s piece of the horological school in Le Locle, circa 1950. 2/3 Plate movement, type IV, club tooth lever escapement, gold screwed Guillaume compensation balance, blued balance spring with two terminal curves, finely mirror polished and bevelled steel tourbillon cage under a mirror polished and bevelled steel bridge. White enamel dial with Arabic hours and subsidiary dial for the seconds. Plain case, double glazed viewing.
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Diameter: 53 mm
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Weight: 165 g
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Signed: Jämes C. Pellaton Ecole d’Horlogerie Le Locle
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The shape and the movement design of this watch reach far back in time. A movement created by J.C. Pellaton’s father Albert Pellaton-Favre around 1900 already shows all the characteristics of the watch at hand, with one exception only, Pellaton-Favre used chronometer escapements for his tourbillons. His son’s ‘return’ to lever escapements for his timekeepers probably resulted from the fact that the Swiss lever escapement was, while being equally reliable, much less complicated to use than the chronometer escapement. Watch No. 1969 exactly matches No. 1966 by Jämes C. Pellaton. This piece was probably created in 1950 in a cooperation with pupils at the watchmaking school in Le Locle, presumably Pellaton’s contribution to the piece was the cage.
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The undisputed master of tourbillons, Jämes C. Pellaton (circa 1880-1954). The watch with tourbillon carriage was an ultimate in precision timekeeping. From the 1920’s to the 1940’s, Jämes C. Pellaton was one of the most esteemed maker of tourbillons and tourbillon carriages, which he supplied to the most prestigious companies including Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Girard-Perregaux, Ulysse Nardin. He learned his craft from his father, also an esteemed tourbillon maker. In design he followed his father, working on the same type of ebauches. He became director of the horological school in Le Locle, which in 1943 awarded him the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa, one of only three awarded at the time.