
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Gubelin wristwatch, Triple Date À Guichets Moon, “Ipso Matic” “Bidynator”, circa 1950-1955
- Maker / attribution
- Gubelin (brand / maker)
- Date
- c. 1950-1955
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- stainless steel
- Dimensions
- length 175 mm. (approx.) mm
- Auction house
- Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
- Lot
- Lot 359-47
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: LOT 47, Hong Kong,March 8, 2023
- Catalogue title (original)
- GÜBELIN SELF-WINDING, TRIPLE DATE À GUICHETS, MOON; “IPSO MATIC” “BIDYNATOR”, GAY FRÈRES BRACELET; SO-CALLED “CHIOCCOLATONE”; STAINLESS STEEL (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva (lot Lot 359-47), this is a wristwatch by Gubelin, dated c. 1950-1955. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: stainless steel. Recorded dimensions: length 175 mm. (approx.) mm. The record is illustrated with 3 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
Stainless steel, self-winding, square-shaped with rounded corners, gentleman’s wristwatch, snap-on case-back, silver colour dial with suspended “Dauphine” numerals, centre-seconds and four horological complications:· Half-instantaneous date of the month (exterior graduation with central index)· Day of the week (aperture at 11 o’clock; indications given in English)· Month of the year (aperture at 1 o’clock; indications given in English)· Phases of the moon (aperture at 6 o’clock)
Lot specifications (Antiquorum)
Model: “Ipso Matic” “Bidynator”; so-called “Chioccolatone”; Movement No.: unnumbered; Case No.: 100 093; Material: stainless steel; Bracelet: stainless steel elastic bracelet with deployant clasp (by Gay Frères, Geneva); Caliber: 11 ½ ’’’, lever escapement (based on Bidynator 693, ebauche by Felsa, Grenchen / Granges); Length: 175 mm. (approx.); Dimensions: 43.2 x 32 mm.; Signature: dial, case and movement
Inscriptions & marks
dial, case and movement
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
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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