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Auguste Huguenin & Fils pocket watch, circa 1880 — view 1 of 2
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Pocket Watches · Pocket watch

Auguste Huguenin & Fils pocket watch, circa 1880

DocumentedDocumented from an auction catalogue; attribution as stated by the auction house.
Maker / attribution
Auguste Huguenin & Fils (brand / maker)
Date
c. 1880
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Pocket watch
Materials / technique
18k yellow gold
Dimensions
diameter 56 mm
Lot
Lot 344-39
Credit line
Auction lot record: LOT 39, Geneva,November 6-7, 2021
Catalogue title (original)
HUGUENIN, 18K GOLD POCKET WATCH WITH TRIPLE CALENDAR AND MOON PHASES (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva (lot Lot 344-39), this is a pocket watch by Auguste Huguenin & Fils, dated c. 1880. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: 18k yellow gold. Recorded dimensions: diameter 56 mm. The record is illustrated with 2 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Antiquorum catalogue description

A very fine, manual wind, 18k yellow gold triple date pocket watch with calendar and moonphase

Lot specifications (Antiquorum)

Movement No.: 15360; Case No.: 15360; Caliber: 19’’’, nickel, fausses cotes decoration, 25 jewels, counterpoised straight line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance with screws, blued steel Breguet balance spring; Diameter: 56 mm; Signature: Dial, Case and Movement

Inscriptions & marks

Dial, Case and Movement

Historical context

Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)

American interchangeable-parts manufacture; railroad time standards; Swiss and German factory systems.

Machine production with interchangeable parts, pioneered by Waltham (1850s) and adopted by Elgin, Longines, Omega and others, made reliable lever watches widely affordable. Keyless winding became standard, railroad watch standards were introduced (1890s), and Swiss and American industries competed globally.

Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Precision & Scientific Horology

Atlas type guide

Calendar, moon-phase and perpetual calendar watches

Calendar complications range from a simple date to the perpetual calendar, which automatically allows for months of different lengths and leap years until 2100. Pocket watches with perpetual calendars were made in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; Patek Philippe made the first perpetual calendar wristwatch in 1925, and series production followed in 1941. The annual calendar (Patek Philippe, 1996) needs correction only once a year.

Moon-phase displays use a disc with two moons and 59 teeth advanced daily, approximating the 29.5-day lunation; more precise trains reduce the error to one day in over a century.

What to look for

  • Apertures or subsidiary dials for day, date, month and leap year.
  • Moon disc under a 'bosom' shaped aperture.
  • Recessed correctors on the case band for setting the calendar.

Dating clues

  • Triple-date wristwatches: popular c. 1940–1955.
  • Perpetual calendar wristwatches: from 1925 (unique) and 1941 (series).

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

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