The rarity is worth repeating

One-of-a-kind estate find features an intricate watch mechanism from the 1800s that is incredibly rare

This Swiss Audemars Piguet timepiece made for Tiffany & Co., features a very rare mechanism called a repeater. Developed in England during the 17th and 18th centuries, repeaters sound the time in hours, quarters and minutes—hence their name. Repeaters do not automatically chime at regular intervals but do so only on demand. On this watch a sliding lever starts a mechanism that sounds the time on quarter hour. Repeaters served a practical purpose: telling time in the dark. When streetlights were rare and matches and candles precious, chiming watches were a logical solution but not a simple one. Even in our robot-ruled manufacturing era some repeater components can only be fashioned by the hands of highly experienced master watchmakers. Watchmakers also tune repeaters and variables in the way the human ear reacts to sound lending a distinct element to each timepiece. Another characteristic of repeaters is rarity, each one requiring months of meticulous work to complete. This timepiece is impeccably maintained, especially considering it’s from approximately the year 1948. In Mint plus condition in original box. A rare find to the discerning collector. We repeat. A rare find.