Lot 425

Du Bois & Fils

A pocket watch with very rare Debaufré escapement, jumping centre seconds, regulator dial and mock pendulum for the Chinese market

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The Debaufré escapement was invented by P. Debaufré in 1704. This escapement is distinguished by having two escape wheels which are mounted on the same arbour. The escape wheels are staggered. They interact with a semi-circular, wedge-shaped pallet on the balance staff which has chamfered edges. The wheels, which alternately rest on the flat underside or escape past it, impart the impulse to the balance.
A comparable watch is illustrated in "La Montre Chinoise" by Alfred Chapuis, Geneva 1983, page 213.

In 1785 Philippe Du Bois and his sons founded the "Du Bois & Fils 1785" watch company at the family seat in Le Locle. Du Bois had already established extensive business connections all over Europe and America as a cloth merchant, which made things much easier for the start-up watch company. During the 19th century Du Bois & Fils opened branches in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States and business boomed. Due to its proximity to the trade fairs the German Frankfurt branch was particularly important.