Sammler-Uhren

Paul Vuille Perret Seconde Morte Observation Watch Deck Watch Chronograph

Name: Paul Vuille Perret Seconde Morte Observation Watch Deck Watch Chronograph
Brand: Sammler-Uhren
Price: 1995.00 EUR
Availability: InStock

€1.995,00 EUR

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Early observation watch by Paul Vuille Perret with the extremely rare complication "Seconde Morte" - jumping seconds - i.e. the first mechanical chronograph function ever.

Definition of the "Seconde Morte" complication:

The classic «seconde morte» construction was invented by JEAN-MOISE POUZAIT at the age of 23: a second drive with the seconds wheel in the center of the movement engages with the pinion of the escape wheel via a thin lever arm at the end of the drive.

This "whip" is only released for a revolution after a full second has elapsed, causing the large seconds hand to also jump by one second. The considerable effort required for a second drive mechanism led to the construction of auxiliary drives, which are constantly retensioned by the main clockwork.

Lange & Söhne (Glashütte) mounted two thin spring arms on a wheel that rotated freely on the axle of the small bottom wheel. This wheel, with a small ratchet wheel, tensioned the two springs, and a small drive mechanism was released every second at the last pinion by a "whip" driven by a star on the escape wheel shaft.

Since the central seconds spring can be deactivated by a lever and the spring arms then slide under the constantly retensioning small ratchet wheel, the spring arms have stone pallets at their ends.

Description:

A virtually unique technical rarity: a military observation watch, Seconde Morte, with a separately startable and stopable central seconds hand via a small slider on the side.

Savonette, 800/000 silver, white, unrestored, flawless enamel dial with Roman numerals, direct (continuous) seconds hand above the "6" and extremely early central seconds hand with seconde morte stop function via two pushers to the left and right of the crown

Jumping central seconds hand, pauseable/stopable with the aforementioned pushers

Hallmarked silver case, 48mm diameter, case no. 421, signature butterfly and "PVD" for Paul Vuille Perret, both lids and rim guilloché, solid 800 silver hallmarked, weight: 103g, crown winding

Bridge mechanism, piston tooth escapement with the two large, overlapping wheels typical for a seconde morte function, shift cam and a lever

The museum-quality, virtually unique artifact runs – as does the Second Morte function – on and off (accuracy not tested).

EZ: 2 - good collector's condition with few, barely noticeable signs of age and use, unrestored, flawless dial, lid closes flush, runs and keeps time including dead time

The watchmaking genius Paul Vuille Perret from Chaux-de-Fonds (Source: Grail Watchwiki):

Paul Perret (1854–1904) was a watchmaker and regulator from La Chaux-de-Fonds, known for his invention of a sophisticated timekeeping machine in the 1880s and for promoting Invar, the material developed by Charles-Édouard Guillaume for balance wheels and hairsprings. He died shortly after the opening of his Fleurier spring factory, which was subsequently sold to the FSR cartel. A watch brand was founded in Perret's honor in 2014, but it failed in 2022.

Biography:

Paul Perret was born in La Sagne in 1854. According to an article in "l'Impartial" from 1889, Perret was a farmer until the age of 17 and therefore could not regularly attend the local school before settling in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1872 as a watchmaker's apprentice.

He likely learned watchmaking at home, where almost the entire village practiced the trade. Perret was active in numerous civic associations and reached the rank of major in the army. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1881 and, due to his marksmanship with a revolver, became known as the "King of Tir" in 1886. In 1889, he was appointed major of the infantry. He was a member of the commission of the watchmaking school in La Chaux-de-Fonds (also known as Fleurier) in 1877 and 1878 and served on the boards of the Tir cantonal exhibition and the national exhibitions.

Another person with the same name also lived in La Chaux-de-Fonds, worked as a watchmaker, and served on the boards of musical organizations. In 1874, he became technical director of the Fabrique d'Horlogerie de Fontainemelon, but left in 1876 "to devote himself to watchmaking and continue his studies," focusing on the mechanical regulation of clocks. As early as 1874, he was looking for a suitable house with a workshop.

In 1877, Paul Perret's work as an adjuster and repairer of watches and timepieces was represented in the city by Béguin-Bourquin. In 1878, he opened his own shop at 10 Rue de l'Industrie and from then on specialized in the adjustment of escapements and pivots, as well as repairs. Amidst the controversy surrounding the Campyloscope, Talantoscope, and automatic adjustment, Paul Perret invented his first adjusting machine in 1873. His Talantoscope was launched in 1883. Perret was awarded a first-class prize and a silver medal at the national watchmaking exhibition in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1881 and served as a jury member at the Swiss National Exhibition in Zurich in 1883.

Perret was a fervent advocate of the patent system and campaigned for a national patent law. On November 14, 1888, the Federal Office for Inventions opened its doors to the public, and Paul Perret was first in line, having arrived early that morning. The Swiss inventor was granted patent number 1. Perret spent his professional life in La Chaux-de-Fonds and was known as an expert chronometer adjuster.

From 1878 to 1888, Perret's workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds supplied 200,000 Breguet settings to industry. In the 1880s, Perret gained renown for two adjustment instruments he invented: the "Campyloscope" for checking the terminal curve of a balance spring using a large-scale drawing, and the "Talantoscope" for comparing the oscillation of a test balance with that of a standard balance.

The Campyloscope and Talantoscope were awarded a bronze medal by the jury of the 1878 Paris World's Fair. On April 20, 1883, Perret's eponymous company moved into the Blancpain building at 65 Rue du Parc in La Chaux-de-Fonds. As was common at the time, this served as his residence and workshop, and he began advertising early in the "Indicateur Davoine." The company offered regulating machines, operated a regulating workshop, and specialized in the precise adjustment of balance wheels and springs. The company also boasted of having won a first-class prize in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1881, two silver medals in 1879 and 1881, a medal in Paris in 1878, and a "Diploma for Invention and Fine Craftsmanship" in Geneva in 1880.

The Talantoscope caused a sensation in 1889 when the "Fédération Horlogère" proposed that the device would eliminate the need for expert watch adjusters. When Paul Perret refused to debate his critics and instead patented the device, rumors circulated that he intended to sell it in America and thus harm the Swiss watch industry. Eventually, Perret's supporters, who had been responsible for the anonymous letter that sparked the controversy, admitted their involvement, and Perret himself assured everyone that his device would be available in Switzerland.

However, Perret's skills as a stockkeeper and regulator overshadowed his entrepreneurial acumen, and he closed his eponymous company in 1895. As early as 1894, in search of a more scalable business model, he had joined forces with Louis-Émile Perret and Charles-Frédéric Perret and founded Perret Frères, a manufacturer of mainsprings for watches. The company was located at 157 Rue du Doubs in La Chaux-de-Fond.

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