Impressive Swiss silver deck watch with 52 hour power reserve Circa 1926

Silver lever keyless deck watch 
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An extremely fine Swiss, impressive and rare, silver, keyless deck watch with 52 hour power reserve indicator and Guillaume balance, circa 1926. An Empire, polished case, fluted band and edges of the bezels, the back stamped with maker’s trademark, silver detachable cuvette. Matte silver dial with champlevé radial Roman numerals and outer minute track, 52 hour up and down subsidiary dial, subsidiary seconds, engraved ‘Grand Prix Paris 1900’. Blued steel spade hands.
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Matte gilt movement, type 1, straight line lever escapement, 21 sapphire jewels, some in screwed chatons, Anibal brass Guillaume balance with gold temperature and meantime adjustment screws, Breguet balance spring with Phillips outer and inner terminal curves, going train jewelled to the centre with end stones on the entire escapement, escape wheel in a separate jewelled plate for easy removal.
Dial, case and movement signed.
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Diameter: 65 mm
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Signed: Paul Ditisheim  Genèva
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Among Ditisheim deck watches, the ones with this type of movement, sometimes called type 1, are the most impressive. They won Ditisheim more Observatory prizes than any others. Paul Ditisheim was one of the most esteemed Swiss horologists of the first half of the 20th century. He designed and patented his own compensation balance, developed a new oil with remarkable stability, and was known for his superior skills in adjusting, skills that won him many prizes and honours.
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Solvil was founded in early 1920 to exploit Ditisheim’s invention and produce the highest possible timekeepers. The present watch is an excellent example of the early Solvil production.