106th Auction

2022/5/21

Lot 195

Longines

A remarkable, heavy observatory chronometer in a mahogany block case with copy of the N.P.L. Cert. (National Physical Laboratory) class A Kew certificate of 12/15/1933

Sold

estimated
10.00015.000 €
Price realized
16.000 €
specific features
Case
Steel, glazed movement, wooden block observatory case.
Dial
Silvered.
Movement
Divided 3/4 plate movement, diameter 65 mm, large (24 mm) Guillaume screw compensation balance.
Diam.97 x 55 x 100 mm
Circa1933
Ctry.Switzerland
Wt.517 g


This calibre, of which only 12 were made, was specially designed for observatory competitions. Apart from the enormous size of this movement, 65 mm(!), the most striking feature of this construction is that the finely finished escapement section is designed separately as a detachable assembly. The advantages of this concept are the improved handling of the precision regulation as well as the interchangeability of the components.
Only 12 prototypes were made and 11 of them took part in the "A" class, Chronometre de Bord, competitions at the Geneva Observatory and at the National Physical Laboratory in Kew, some of them several times. Our No. 300 was tested at Kew in 1932 and 1933 and twice achieved high scores with the results "especially good"; in 1933 with 95.60 points awarded position 13.