Lot 217

David Auguste Golay, Sentier

An extremely rare, heavy and very fine minute repeating hunting case pocket watch with perpetual calendar, moon phase and split seconds chronograph - with original wooden box and bronze exhibition medal "Exposition Universelle Internationale Paris", inscribed D. Golay and signed "J.C. Chaplain", Paris 1900

Sold

The stepped rose gold à goutte hunting case has an impressive weight of almost 200 grams, making for a wonderfully comfortable feel when the watch is held. Two pushers for the split seconds chronograph and a slide for the minute repeater are set in the case band at "11" and "1". The white enamel dial has Arabic numerals, four subsidiary dials for day, month with leap year and date as well as auxiliary seconds with a cobalt blue enamel moon phase disc with inlaid golden stars and moon. Four sliders on the edge of the dial are used to adjust the calendar. The highly complicated movement has extremely finely mirror-polished steel chronograph parts and a very finely polished, bevelled split seconds mechanism with separate ratchet wheel.
The bronze medal signed by Jules-Clément Chaplain commemorates the Universal Exhibitions in Paris in 1900 and awarded to Auguste Golay for his participation in the fair. The front of the medal shows Marianne, the national personification of the French Republic. On the back a torch bearer rides on the goddess of victory, to hand palm leaves and laurel to the winners. The exhibition nuildings are visible in the background.

David Auguste Golay (1862-1938) began his career as a claims adjuster with Jules Jürgensen in Le Locle. In the early 1880s Golay returned to his birthplace Le Sentier and established his own business. In 1883 the watch company David Golay was awarded a prize for their excellent workmanship and meticulous in precision watchmaking at the Swiss national exhibition in Zurich. After the death of J. Alfred Jürgensen in 1912 Golay returned to Le Locle, to manage the business together with Madame Lydia Jürgensen, widow of J. A. Jürgensen. From 1916 to circa 1925 he was the sole owner of the company and produced high-quality timepieces by finishing incomplete Jürgensen movements.
Jules-Clément Chaplain (12 July 1839 - 13 July 1909) was a French sculptor and one of the country's finest medalists. Together with Louis Oscar Roty (1846-1911), he helped to found the Art Nouveau movement.