Lepine 18k Repeater

Lepine was a contemporary of Breguet. Both men were trailbazers in the history of watchmaking. Lepine lived from 1720 to 1814 so this was, perhaps, one of the last watches the company made before his death. Lepine was significant for his advances that led to the ability to make watches much thinner. In fact, Breguet emulated these characteristics in his watches and they were thus called Lepine calibre watches. Lepine developed the stand-alone barrel that revolutionized watchmaking which assured that his name would be written in the history books of watch development. Repeaters, like this one, are the pinnacle of the watchmaker's art, since they are some of the most complicated watches made. This watch chimes the hour and the quarter hour, on demand, by pushing the pendant down. It strikes on two separate gongs that are housed inside of the case body. It first sounds single tones

for the hour that it is past, and then double tones for the quarter hour that is current. The repeater was designed so that one could tell the time in the middle of the night without rising to light a candle. It was also used to impress one's friends by activating it in the company of others. Very few of these Lepine repeaters survive intact let alone functioning correctly. This fine example is not only functioning but keeping time and repeating via a lovely chime. Notice the hand turned dial texture at the center of the silvered dial, the inlaid enamel Roman Numerals, and the Breguet Style lunette hands. This is evidence of the dial maker's skill that is rare today. Inside the 18K solid gold case, on the cuvette, there is this inscription "Lepine & Co. Neuveu Horologers du Roi, a\' Paris\"; a clear indication of Lepine's association with the king. This particular watch was

made in the first quarter of the 19th century and has been well cared for over the last 190 years! This Lepine, which is an important timepiece, was found by our Hungarian watchmaker and then carefully restored to it's former glory. The movement is a classic 13 jewel Lepine, cylindre, escapement and you may rest assured that this is the real McCoy with all of it's original parts. If you are a collector or want something that no one else on your block has, this is the watch for you! Remember all of our timepieces come with our famous one year parts and labor warranty!

Price: $7950

SKU: PW570

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