Swiss 18K white gold digital jump hour pocket watch Circa 1926

White gold digital lever pocket watch
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A fine and rare Swiss 18 carat white gold Art Deco jump hour Lépine pocket watch with digital time display, made by Audemars Piguet in Geneva, circa 1926. The watch has a flat, round case with a smooth back and gently flattened edges, fitted with an 18 carat white gold hinged bezel. The silvered dial features a rectangular aperture for the jumping hours at 12 o’clock and a sector shaped aperture for the digital minutes below. The hand wound mechanical movement has a lever escapement, calibre 17 SVF, with Geneva striping decoration, compensated bimetallic balance, flat balance spring and 19 jewels. The movement is signed Audemars, Piguet & Co, Brassus & Genève, Swiss, and numbered, with the same number on the case. Dial, case and movement all signed and numbered.
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Diameter: 44 mm
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Weight: 46.5 g
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Signed: Audemars, Piguet & Co, Brassus & Genève, Swiss
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According to the Audemars Piguet Archives, this watch was sold in Paris on 17 December 1929. 
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This sophisticated sautante digital display, invented by the French watchmaker Antoine Blondeau around 1830 for Louis-Philippe, King of the French, became highly fashionable again during the Art Deco period. Comparable jump hour pocket watches were created by leading houses such as Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Breguet, and Vacheron Constantin, and the style soon extended to wristwatches, perfectly matching the era’s slim, elegant designs. Audemars Piguet introduced its first wristwatch with digital jumping hours in 1924, followed by Cartier in 1928 with the Tank, and Rolex with the Prince Brancard.