nickd
1591
Minute repeater chronograph pocketwatch
I posted a message some time ago about a friend who has a VC minute repeater chronograph he inherited from an uncle. I said I'd get some photos, and here they are. I had 400ASA black and white film in the camera, no other film in the house, and my tripod and light tent were elsewhere, so the photos are not brilliant.
It is a truly gorgeous watch, and I'd love to own it. After the shock of seeing had worn off, the next thing that hit me was the weight. I've never held a watch that heavy, and I can't begin to imagine how many ounces of gold are in it. It's incredibly solid, and I doubt you could bend even the inner cuvette by hand.
You can hear the repeater chime right across the room, and when we put it on a hard wooden table, my wife heard it in the kitchen!
The steel work is black polished and angled, the rubys are deep red and the screws are deep blue... aahhhhhh! Some of the springs in the chronograph works are incredibly long and fine - I dread to think how many days work some of them would be. You can't see it clearly in the photos, but the hammers are both on the same side of the sriking works, which is apparently unusual.
It's in amazing condition, but needs some TLC as the repeater doesn't strike smoothly and the chronograph start/stop are not as smooth as I imagine they should be.
Thanks to Alex for hosting the photos.
Enjoy
nick
