VACHERON & CONSTANTIN De ville. N° : 303760. Circa : 1950. Elegant wristwatch. Round case in yellow gold 750/1000 with screwed back. Off-white dial signed. Black applied baton hour markers and golden Arabic numerals. Gold-plated baton hands. Central blue baton seconds hand. Hand-wound mechanical movement signed Vacheron et Constantin 17 jewels caliber V454 numbered 459878. Case back numbered 303760. Black leather strap with pin buckle. Diameter: 35 mm. Length: 22cm. Gross weight:

Maurice BELLONTE Exceptional set of 3 watches presented to Maurice Bellonte for his achievement on September 1 and 2, 1930: First non-stop East-West crossing of the North Atlantic (Paris - New-York), against the prevailing winds. Exceptional set of 3 watches offered to Maurice Bellonte for his exploit of September 1 and 2, 1930: First East-West crossing, against the prevailing winds, non-stop flight in the North Atlantic (Paris - New York). Vacheron Constantin pour Mauboussin, n° 128032, Mvt. 411114, 1930. An exceptional hexagonal dress code white gold watch made in 2 copies, one for Costes, ours for Bellonte. Silver dial marked “September 1 and 2, 1930”, outer red enameled minute track and Arabic numerals, white gold Breguet hands, engraved bezel “Bellonte” at 6. The case back red and white enameled with the “?”. White rhodium-plated mechanical movement signed Vacheron Constantin, pendant winder. In its red leather case marked with the initials M.B for Maurice Bellonte, and signed inside Mauboussin, 5 rue de Choiseul, Paris. The watch is in very good condition, with some imperfections on the dial, the enamel without defects. A service is required to clean and oil the entire movement. The dominant red color here refers to the color of the plane, the “?” of Costes and Bellonte, also nicknamed “The Red”. Longines, n° 611370, Mvt 3805870, offerte par la ville de Philadelphie à Maurice Bellonte le 9 octobre 1930. An exceptional white gold (14K – 585°/00) museum pocket watch made in 2 copies, one for Costes, ours for Bellonte. Silver dial, external minute track, blue white red enamelled indexes PARIS NEW YORK, stylized blued steel hands. The 2-tone sandblasted gold case-back depicting their plane “le Point d’Interrogation” above the Atlantic Ocean connecting the two continents with the engraved inscription “presented October 9. 1930 by Mayor Harry A. Mackey on behalf of the city of Philadelphia to Maurice Bellonte, first non-stop flight France to United States”. The plane as well as the map positions of Paris and New York decorated with 8/8 diamonds. White rhodium-plated manual winding movement (17.89M), crown at 12. In its original green leather case with gold ornamentation depicting the arms of the city of Philadelphia and the name of the goldsmith and jeweler “S.Kind and Sons, Phila”. Philadelphia Mayor Harry A. Mackey presented this very fine watch to Maurice Bellonte on behalf of the city during the ceremony for their triumphal tour on November 9th, 1930. The watch is in excellent general condition. A service is required to clean and oil the entire movement. Boucheron, n° J205778B (gravé à la main), offerte par la ville de Paris, 1930. A very fine and exceptional white gold dress pocket watch made in 2 copies, one for Costes, ours for Bellonte. Silver metal dial decorated with blue and red enameled circles, PARIS NEW YORK indexes, blued steel fusée hands. Engraving on the edge “City of Paris in Bellonte September 1-2, 1930”. Case back enameled red and blue, question mark applied set with 8/8 diamonds. Very fine unsigned white rhodium-plated mechanical movement, côtes de Genève decoration, pendant winder. In its original leather box signed Boucheron, topped with the coat of arms of the City of Paris. The city of Paris placed an order with Boucheron for this museum dress watch and presented it upon their return during a ceremony. Boucheron uses the question mark, the name given to their plane as well as the codes of aviation with circles and Paris traditional color with blue and red. The watch is in excellent general condition. A service is required to clean and oil the entire movement. A probably unique opportunity to acquire a museum watch bringing together the know-how of Boucheron and one of the major exploits in the international history of aviation. Provenance, Tessier & Sarrou auction, Bellonte estate, Drouot (December 1, 2016).