Pocket Watches · Pocket chronometer
Ulysse Nardin Chronometer, circa 1955
- Maker / attribution
- Ulysse Nardin (brand / maker)
- Date
- circa 1955
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Pocket chronometer
- Materials / technique
- stainless steel
- Dimensions
- 64 mm.
- Auction house
- Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
- Lot
- Lot 374-167
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: LOT 167
- Catalogue title (original)
- ULYSSE NARDIN, SWITZERLAND, CHRONOMETER, SPLIT SECONDS CHRONOGRAPH, FROM A SERIES OF 402 PIECES, STAINLESS STEEL
Record summary
Catalogued by Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva (lot Lot 374-167), this is a pocket chronometer by Ulysse Nardin, made in Switzerland, dated circa 1955. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: stainless steel. Recorded dimensions: 64 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
EUR 2,700 - 4,900 / CHF 2,500 - 4,500 / USD 2,900 - 5,200 A fine and large stainless steel, manual wind keyless pocket lever Chronometer with split-seconds chronograph and instantaneous 30-minute recorder. Silver dial, blue steel Breguet hands.
Lot specifications (Antiquorum)
Caliber: 22''', rhodium plated, fausses cotes decoration, 26 jewels, fast beating straight line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation Guillaume balancebalance, blued steel Breguet balance spring, micrometer index regulator, button on the winding crown and push piece in the band for the split-seconds function.; Case No.: 647702; Movement No.: 125844; Signature: Dial, case and movement
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
After 1945 the pocket watch became a niche product — presentation and railway watches, inexpensive pin-lever watches, and commemorative pieces — while most innovation moved to the wrist.
Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
Atlas type guide
Chronographs and split-seconds watches
A chronograph is a watch with an additional seconds hand that can be started, stopped and returned to zero independently of the timekeeping. Louis Moinet built an early example in 1816 and Nicolas Rieussec a recording 'chronographe' in 1821; Adolphe Nicole's heart-shaped reset cam (patented 1862) made the modern return-to-zero possible. Split-seconds (rattrapante) chronographs add a second hand that can be stopped for intermediate times; flyback chronographs restart instantly.
Chronographs were essential tools for doctors (pulsometer scales), artillery (telemeter), engineers and sport. In wristwatches, Valjoux, Venus, Lemania and later the automatic chronographs of 1969 (Zenith El Primero, the Chronomatic Calibre 11 group and Seiko 6139) are milestones.
What to look for
- Push-pieces on the case band or a single button in the crown (monopusher).
- Subsidiary registers for minutes and hours; tachymeter, telemeter or pulsometer scales.
- Column wheel versus cam control visible in the movement.
- Calibre markings of specialist makers (Valjoux, Lemania, Venus, Landeron).
Dating clues
- Pocket chronographs with heart cam reset: after 1862.
- Wrist chronographs: from c. 1910; two-button designs from the 1930s.
- Automatic chronographs: from 1969.
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.
Read next:Flyback chronographChronograph
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