353 - Père Bouhelier - Early Lever Escapement

Père Bouhelier - Early Lever Escapement An important quarter-repeating pocket watch featuring a rare, very early variation of the lever escapement Movement No. 715, Case No. 13623, Dimensions 53 mm, circa 1820, Weight 112 g, Origin: France Case: 18K gold, guilloché pattern, engraved monogram, repeating mechanism activated by a pull-and-twist button in the pendant. Dial: Silver, guilloché pattern. Movement: Skeletonized, key-wound, 2 hammers, 2 gongs, three-arm blued ring balance, large openworked engraved balance cock. The name Bouhelier was very common in Franche-Comté, where Père Bouhelier was born in the small village of Saint Julien near Charquemont. The area was primarily home to farmers, but in the winter, the locals produced cylinder escapements for French and Swiss watchmakers. All of the very few watches known to have been made by Père Bouhelier are fitted with the same caliber and feature the same linear lever escapement. The design of the caliber itself is unusual and quite simple; it is difficult to determine whether it was behind the times or even technologically ahead of its time. Père Bouhelier was a priest who was forced to flee his country for England during the French Revolution, so one might assume that he taught himself to make lever escapements during his time in exile. We had an almost identical watch in our 89th auction in May 2014 (lot 355). Case: very good. Dial: very good. Movement: very good, in working order, cleaning recommended.