Swiss white gold keyless Art Deco dress watch Circa 1925

White gold keyless Art Deco dress watch
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A fine and very rare, slim, 18K white gold hunting cased keyless Art Deco dress watch, the winding mechanism activated by the opening and closing of the cover, circa 1925. Rhodium plated movement, stamped twice with Seal of Geneva Quality Mark, 17 jewels, wolf’s tooth click wheel, straight line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel flat balance spring, index regulator, keyless winding activated by the opening and closing of the front cover, the linear mechanism using a cranked lever and toothed rack to wind the barrel. Hand setting lever in the bezel. Brushed and polished case, the front cover engraved with initials GD.
Matte silver dial with black champlevé dauphine numerals, outer minute track, subsidiary seconds. Blued steel spade hands.
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Diameter: 48 mm
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Signed: Haas Neveux & Co., Genève
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The winding system used for the present watch is both unusual and archaic. This type of winding is sometimes found in watches of the early – mid 19th Century but by the 1920’s and 30’s was simply a novelty feature, although exactly the kind of unusual mechanical device that was beloved of Haas Neveux. The hand setting is facilitated by a slide lever in the bezel and then by turning the crown. Of course the present watch is much slimmer than its predecessors and presents the collector with a watch that is a rare late example of a non-crown winding keyless watch.