106th Auction
2022/5/21
Lot 218
Courvoisier FrèresMobilis
A rare "Poor Man's Tourbillon" according to the Swiss patent no. 30754 of Paul Loichot
Sold
estimated
1.800—3.000 €
Price realized
2.000 €
specific features
Case
Silver, engine-turned.
Dial
Gilt, engine-turned, peripheral silvered hour dial.
Movement
Full plate movement, Swiss patent no. 30754, screw compensation balance.
Case no.853
Diam.53 mm
Circa1900
Ctry.Switzerland
Wt.99 g
Brothers Henri-Louis and Philippe Auguste Courvoisier traded from 1842 on under the name "Courvoisier Frères". When more brothers joined the partnership in 1882, they changed the company name to "Courvoisier Fils". Specialising in high quality watches, they were commissioned by the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds to create a watch for the Prussian King William IV; at the time this ultra-flat watch was supposedly the thinnest in the world. The tourbillon movement invented by the Swiss Paul Loichot (which he turned in the case so it would be visible face-sided) was patented for the Courvoisier brothers on July 4th, 1905 under the number 19062 and the name "Mobilis".