Swiss 14K gold minute repeating calendar watch Circa 1900

Gold complicated lever pocket watch by Le Phare
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A large Swiss 14 carat yellow gold hunting cased minute repeating keyless lever chronograph with triple calendar and moon phases made for the Russian market, circa 1900. Gilded brass movement with a straight line lever escapement, going barrel, compensated balance with gold poising screws and blued steel hairspring with a terminal curve. A polished case. White enamel dial with Roman hours, an outer minute track, Arabic five minute/second numerals, outermost fifth of a second divisions and original Louis XV style hands, date indication at 12 o’clock, two central small apertures for the days of the week and months and auxiliary seconds with concentric phases of the moon at 6.

This timepiece features six horological complications, it repeats the minutes on two steel gongs activated by the rectangular shaped push piece located on the case band at 12 o’clock, it has a chronograph activated by the single rectangular shaped push piece located on the case band at 2, there are subsidiary dials for the date, days of the week and months of the year in Cyrillic and phases of the moon at 6. Cuvette and movement signed. Accompanied by a copy of patent No. 334.
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Diameter: 57 mm
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Signed: Le Phare Le Locle
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The movement of this timepiece is based on Swiss patent No. 334, delivered on January 8th, 1889, to Charles Barbezat-Baillot, Le Locle, for a “Perfectionnements apportés à la construction des mécanismes de répétition pour montres de poche de toutes dimensions” (improvements to the construction of the mechanisms of repetition for pocket watches of all sizes). This patent includes, in particular, the centrifugal force regulator to regulate the speed of the repetition mechanism.
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Charles Barbezat-Baillot. The company C. Barbezat-Baillot in Le Locle, Switzerland, was founded by Charles Barbezat-Baillot (1847-1938). He was the elder brother of Henri Barbezat-Bôle (1851-1921), the founder of H. Barbezat-Bôle S.A. in Le Locle. Charles holds many patents related to inventions in watchmaking and registers numerous trademarks: Trusty, Le Phare, Dixi, Fix Watch Co. etc.
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Le Phare. The company was originally founded by Charles Barbezat-Baillot (1847-1938) and Henry Guye (1838-1877) under the name Guye & Barbezat in Le Locle, Switzerland, high in the Neuchâtel mountains. In 1888, the firm’s name was changed to Le Phare, being the registered name of their complicated watches.

The company, which later launched the Jean d’Eve watch range, has left its mark on the story of Swiss watchmaking. Indeed, from 1889, its watches were rewarded by the most eminent prizes, a gold medal at the National Exhibition of 1896 in Geneva followed that of 1889 at the Great Universal Exhibition in Paris. In 1897 the silent regulator was invented. A veritable technological marvel that overcame the humming problems beset the repeater watches of the day. This brought another gold medal for Le Phare at the Paris Great Exhibition of 1900.

In 1900, the company advertised their brands that year as La Locloise, l’Esperanto, Le Phare, Tempora and La Volapuk. The company continued to develop and in 1970 was the second largest producer of chronograph watches in Switzerland. The management’s strategy is to maximise its remarkable know-how to develop new ways of measuring time.