Swiss gold Art Deco World Time lever dress watch Circa 1936

Gold keyless watch with three-tone silvered dial
–
An early, very fine, extremely rare, and slim Swiss 18 carat yellow gold open faced World Time Art Deco keyless lever dress pocket watch, circa 1936. Finished by Louis Cottier. Polished case with satiné back. Three-tone matte silvered dial with black painted Roman quarter-hour numerals, outer minute track, outer revolving Arabic chapter ring for 24-hour indication, outermost World Time chapter ring bearing the name of 31 global locations, and gold Epee hands. A heure Universelle, rhodium-plated movement, Geneva striping decoration, 18 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel flat balance spring, index regulator. Dial, case, and movement signed.
–
Diameter: 46 mm
–
Signed: Vacheron & Constantin Genève
–
Vacheron Constantin made only a few very small series – of 6 to 7 pieces each – employing the World Time system. The World Time system was invented around 1935 by Louis Cottier (1894-1966), the famous independent watchmaker in Geneva. Considered by many to be the most practical and important inventions of modern horology, his “World Time” patents were used by Agassiz and other major manufacturers in the Swiss watch industry, including Patek Philippe, Rolex, and Vacheron & Constantin.