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PRODID:-//eluceo/ical//2.0/EN
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UID:fe4022e0317dedca68e74aba17525284
DTSTAMP:20260404T094418Z
SUMMARY:ls-gallopin-cie-succrs-de-henry-capt - Date de vente : 08/12/2025
DESCRIPTION:Nom du lots : LS. Gallopin & Cie\, Succrs de Henry Capt\n\nMove
 ment: two-train frosted gilded movement with tandem winding\, highly jewe
 lled\, bi-metallic compensation balance\, grey finished balance spring wit
 h overcoil\, chronograph and split work partially visible to the backplate
 \, polished steel hammers repeating on coiled gongs\n\nDial: white enamel
  dial\, black Arabic numerals\, recessed subsidiary dials for day\, 60-min
 ute register\, date\, months combined with subsidiary seconds and aperture
  for moon phases\, outer scale for minutes/chronograph seconds calibrated 
 for fifths\, red ¼ mile tachymetric scale\, outermost alphabetic\, gold h
 ands\, dial signed T. Martin & Co.\, 151 Regent St.\, London\n\nCase: 18
 k yellow gold half-hunting case\, aperture to front lid with glazed apertu
 re surrounded by white enamel chapter ring with black Roman numerals and m
 inute ring\, two pushers for chronograph/split to band\, short trip-repeat
  slide to band between VII and VIII\, slides beneath the bezel for strikin
 g/silence and striking/full striking\, nibs for calendar correctors beneat
 h the bezel for date and moon phases\, cuvette engraved No. 2409 T. Marti
 n & Co. Regent St.\, inside back lid with spread eagle Henry Capt and P &
  P marks\, numbered 41300\, front lid numbered 300\, case back and penda
 nt with French owl import assay\n\nSigned: dial and case signed T. Martin
  & Co.\, case stamped with spread eagle Henry Capt mark\n\nDiameter: 54.3
  mm\n\nAccompanied by letter from E. Gallopin & Cie\, Succrs de Henry Capt
  dated 7 August 1964 confirming the year of manufacture in 1894.\n\nIn add
 ition to the exceptional complexity of the movement\, this watch has a mos
 t unusual dial featuring an additional alphabetic scale placed above the h
 our numerals\, with the letters A to M (omitting J) corresponding sequenti
 ally to the hours 1 to 12. Between 12 and 1 o’clock\, a further group of
  letters\, “RSWX”\, appears within the chapter ring. The omission of J
  follows earlier alphabetic conventions familiar from 19th-century telegra
 phic and signalling codes\, while the inclusion of this secondary letter s
 cale suggests the dial may have been intended for coded or other specialis
 t purposes. The watch’s outer red tachymeter scale\, calibrated for quar
 ter-mile distances\, indicates that it was designed for the rapid calculat
 ion of speed in miles per hour over short\, standardised intervals. Such a
  system would have been especially useful in equestrian or military contex
 ts\, where the quarter-mile (equivalent to two furlongs) was a conventiona
 l measure for timing horse or messenger runs. The added letters may have p
 rovided a means of quick reference\, notation\, or coded recording during 
 such trials. Whether intended for horse-racing\, cavalry training\, or fie
 ld signalling\, the combination of a quarter-mile tachymeter and an auxili
 ary alphabetic scale is exceptionally rare.\n\nThe watchmaking firm of Hen
 ri (or Henry) Capt was originally founded by Henri-Daniel Capt\, who was b
 orn in 1773 at Le Chenit in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux. A highly skil
 led and influential watchmaker\, Capt specialised in creating watches and 
 boxes incorporating music and automata\, in addition to repeaters. He is c
 redited with being the first to manufacture steel teeth capable of playing
  all notes of the musical scale. From 1802 to 1811\, Capt partnered with I
 saac-Daniel Piguet under the business name Piguet & Capt. When Piguet left
  the partnership in 1811 to collaborate with Philippe Meylan\, Capt contin
 ued independently until 1830\, when he entered a new partnership with Aube
 rt\, forming the firm Aubert & Capt. From 1844\, the company was run by He
 nri Capt’s son\, also named Henri\, and the firm was re-named Henri Capt
  & Cie. Around 1880\, Louis Gallopin became involved with the firm and by 
 1893 had become the sole proprietor. Initially the company continued to tr
 ade under the name Henri Capt. It was subsequently re-named H. Capt Horlog
 er\, Maison Gallopin Successeurs\, and later still\, E. Gallopin & Cie\, S
 uccesseurs de Henri Capt. The company continued to specialise in precision
  and complicated watches.\n\nOne of the finest watchmaking firms of the 19
 th century\, Henri Capt was a regular competitor at the major chronometer 
 trials and received numerous awards. In the 1882 Geneva Observatory trials
 \, a Henri Capt watch with a palladium balance spring was awarded First Pr
 ize\, placing first in the Class A category. During its 40-day test period
 \, the watch’s mean daily rate of variation was just 0.21 seconds. In th
 e same year\, a further two of Henri Capt’s watches placed within the to
 p 25 of the trials (a total of 208 watches were entered by a wide range of
  makers). In 1887\, Henri Capt (Gallopin) became the first Swiss watchmake
 r to enter a watch for the Kew Observatory trials in England\, submitting 
 a repeating watch for the contest.\n\nInterestingly\, in the Horological J
 ournal of March 1888\, the firm of Henri Capt was recorded as having a Lon
 don branch at 151 Regent Street and was advertising for “an Englishman\,
  experienced watchmaker\, speaking French fluently\, to act as a salesman.
 ” Emile Capt was also recorded at the same Regent Street address in Febr
 uary 1889\, when he was elected a member of the British Horological Instit
 ute. The lease of the 151 Regent Street premises was put up for sale in Se
 ptember 1889 and advertised as a “well-established and high-class [premi
 ses with]… splendidly fitted-up shop.” Given the date of the present w
 atch\, 1894\, it would appear that it was T. Martin who took on the lease\
 , while evidently maintaining a connection with Henri Capt/Gallopin.
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251208
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