Swiss watch with Reaumur temperature indication Circa 1855

Silver pocket watch with regulator dial by Baudin Frères
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A rare Swiss gentleman’s pocket watch with regulator dial, temperature indication in Reaumur and date, circa 1855. Attributed to Sylvain Mairet.
Silver, engine-turned case with engraved hatchment, and florally engraved case band. Signed enamel dial with radial Roman numerals for the hours at 9 on the eccentric chapter ring, Arabic numerals for the date at 3 on the eccentric chapter ring, auxiliary seconds, thermometer sector with Reaumur scale at the top, and blued Breguet hands. Keywind, frosted gilt bridge movement with bimetallic steel and brass thermometer curb acing on spring-loaded rack-and-pinion transmission, screw compensation balance, and counterpoised lever.
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Diameter: 47 mm
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Weight: 62 g
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Signed: Baudin Frères, Genève
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The Réaumur temperature scale
The Réaumur temperature scale is named after French scientist René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, who introduced the scale in 1730; its freezing point and the boiling point of water are set to 0 and 80 degrees respectively.
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Sylvain Mairet
Sylvain Mairet grew up with his uncle; F.I. Favre-Bulle was a renowned watchmaker of his period. Mairet was to become one of the best watchmakers in Le Locle. He lived in London from 1831 until 1834 where he struck up a friendship with J.F. Cole and mostly worked for B.L. Vulliamy. He often created the watches to his own design; he invented a keyless winding system for watches with two-train movements (see lot No. 218). Sylvain Mairet was the official Swiss agent to the London Universal Exhibition in 1862 and wrote the official report; he received a gold medal at the 1867 Paris Exhibition “as a testimony to his ability and the beneficial influence which he had exerted on the progress of watchmaking in the Canton of Neuchatel”.