Timepieces Trade Market

Patek Philippe : The Legend of Chronometro Gondolo

The story of a family of extraordinary pocket and wristwatches
created by Patek Philippe at the request of a noted Rio de Janeiro jeweler

The name "Gondolo" that designates one of the families in the current Patek Philippe line originates from a chapter of the company's history that unfolded in Brazil. Between 1900 and 1928, the Geneva workshops produced "Chronometro Gondolo" pocket and wristwatches for Gondolo & Labouriau, a jeweler in Rio de Janeiro. Patek Philippe's relationship with Gondolo & Labouriau began in 1872, when Patek Philippe delivered its first pocket watch to Gondolo. Initially, Gondolo & Labouriau distributed ordinary pocket watches from the Patek Philippe range. The first, sold on Nov. 12, 1872, was an 18-ligne pocket watch with a lever escapement in a silver case.

In 1900, the Rio de Janeiro jeweler commissioned Patek Philippe to make an exclusive pocket watch henceforth designated "Chronometro Gondolo". The first deliveries were made that year. The caliber of this model was made of gold-plated brass, in some cases with rhodium finish, and adorned with Geneva striping. The caliber was the same for all watch sizes and featured an S-shaped fourth wheel bridge and two parallel curved cocks for the minute and escapement wheels, a bridge for the spring barrel, and a massive cock for the ratchet. This caliber design was typical of Patek Philippe. It was patented in the United States on January 13, 1891, and the movements of most Chronometro Gondolo models refer to this U.S. patent.
The technical specifications for the watches in this exclusive series were specified by Gondolo & Labouriau as follows:
1. A Swiss lever escapement with a lever having lateral winglet-shaped counter poises, called the moustache lever due to its shape;
2. A precision regulator using a cam wheel regulator according to Swiss patent No. 142376 applied for by Adrien Philippe and granted on April 16,1881 ;
3. Fourth, intermediate, and minute wheels made of 9K rose gold;
4. A square socket in the mainspring barrel arbor.

Several features of the movement did not have to be explicitly specified because they were the norm around 1900 for a watch manufacturer of Patek Philippe's stature. They include the winding wheels with saw-toothed or wolfs-tooth profiles; 18, 19, 20, or 21 jewels; a Breguet-style curved over coil of the flat balance spring; and a bimetallic compensation balance.

Technically necessary?

A closer examination of these specifications provides some interesting insights. In 19th-century Switzerland, levers with counterweights were quite ommon. Counterweights came in different shapes and sizes, but what they had in common was the ability to improve the equilibrium of the pallets and thus the precision of the beat frequency. The moustache-shaped extension of the lever was one way to attach counterweights; another was to simply lengthen the lever beyond the pallets up to the axis of the escape wheel. The latter approach was typical of Patek Philippe.

By 1900 it had long become clear that counterpoising did not have a significant influence on accuracy. The classic Swiss lever escapement with the balanced lever still in use today had become the benchmark. The moustache lever was already obsolete at that time. Nonetheless, Patek Philippe kept using it throughout the 1920s, at least until the Chronometro Gondolo series was discontinued in 1927. With its elegantly curved poise and painstakingly beveled edges, it is an aesthetic delicacy, but it was certainly not technically necessary.

For a quality watch such as this, the index snail for the regulator adjuster (specification #2) was significant. The gold wheels (specification #3), never again implemented by Patek Philippe, would have been a sensible measure for protecting the movement against magnetism had not only the fourth wheel but also the club-foot escape wheel and lever been made of gold or at least brass. But in the Chronometro Gondolo, the escapement was still magnetizable steel.

The need for the square socket in the mainspring barrel arbor (specification #4) remains unclear, although its function is obvious. It eliminates the need for a crown to wind up the mainspring or wind it down prior to a repair or overhaul. But a square socket key is helpful only in very few situations during a repair project: for example, when the crown less movement has been removed from the case but needs to be partially wound for tests. It's quite likely that the square socket was intended only as a convenience for watch repair technicians. It's a rather frivolous requirement, to say the least, because watchmakers have other winding means at their disposal. The square socket was never implemented by Patek Philippe in any other movement. It would be interesting to find out exactly why Gondolo & Labouriau specified it.

Of the four items required by Gondolo & Labouriau, only the snail-type regulator adjuster was technically necessary. Probably, the other three were intended to project a quality image or, as in the case of the square socket, to solve a nonexistent problem. The saw-toothed winding wheels were sensible, however, because they add softness and smoothness to the feel of the winding function.

The chronometer question

The name of the series, Chronometro Gondolo, suggests that the models were chronometers. However, it is not known whether Patek Philippe tested these timepieces in-house or had their accuracy verified by outside authorities such as the official testing institute in Geneva under observatory-grade conditions. Can the word "chronometer" embedded in the model name of a timepiece actually stake a claim to precision? Patek Philippe's policy in this respect remains unclear. But since Patek Philippe was already among the most successful contenders in chronometer competitions in the 19th century and employed famous chronometer timers, known as "regleurs", it stands to reason Patek Philippe made the Gondolos eligible for chronometer status.

Chronometro Gondolo pocket watches were produced in an astonishingly broad range of models. Given this diversity, it is remarkable that the understated, somewhat old-fashioned design characteristics were preserved across all variations. Indeed, a Chronometro Gondolo was recognizable at first sight, or at least after a second glance. They have an ethereal quality that spans the entire family, a quality they share with the firm's Calatrava watches.

The pocket watches varied in size. There were nine different movement sizes expressed in lignes: 10,11,12,17,18,19, 20, 21, and 22 lignes. The smallest sizes (10 to 12 lignes) were reserved for ladies' models and were later cased in wrist-watches as well. The 12-ligne movements were also used in several men's dress watches. The reasons for the gap between 12 and 17 lignes is that ladies' watches generally were not made larger than 12 and men's generally not smaller than 17 lignes.

Most of the dials used in Gondolo models were white enamel, except for occasional dress watches that had silver-plated or decorated dials. The standard dial had black Roman numerals as well as a subsidiary seconds dial at 6 o'clock. Some pieces have center sweep seconds, for instance No. 149 704. This piece deviates from the norm in other respects as well. It has Arabic numerals on the dial but no "Chronometro Gondolo" signature, a rhodium finished movement, and the note "adjusted" engraved on the minute wheel bridge. Perhaps this piece had been prepared for chronometer testing, as suggested by the chronometer timer's note and the use of a Guillaume balance.

Arabic numerals were used only on a few dress watches, but consistently on all 24-hour dials, also in black, with the numerals 0, 6, 12, and 18 in red to indicate the quarter-hours. The normal signature of the model on the dial was "Patek Philippe & Cie Genève" beneath the "12" and "Chronometro Gondolo" in an arc either above the maker's name or above the subsidiary seconds dial. In some instances, an owner's signature replaces the maker's signature, for example "John James Waitz" and "Joaquin KozimodeLima" on Nos. 133 582 and 151 224, respectively. On such watches, the maker's signature is usually above the small seconds. The company signature "Patek Philippe & Cie" also occurs on the movement near the engraving of the serial number. The cover is inscribed with "Chronometro Gondolo Patek Philippe & Cie Genève" and the movement number. The engraving reads: "Fabricado expressamente para Gondolo & Labouriau Relojoeiros Rio-de-Janeiro."

The hour and minute hands were almost always gold spade hands and the small seconds hand was generally a blue-steel baton hand. On rare occasions, Louis XVI hands were used, for example in No. 149 704 with the center sweep second, although, it is difficult to ascertain the authenticity of hands.

The standard issue case of the Chronometro Gondolo is the open Lépine case in 18K rose gold with an engine-turned back. Some cases were made of yellow gold, of silver with gold fittings (hinges, crown, bow), or of niello. Hunter and half-hunter models were produced as well. The Louis XVI case type that originated in Glashütte was also fairly common, for example in 12-ligne ladies' watches.

Most Chronometro Gondolo models were unpretentious pocket watches that displayed hours, minutes, and seconds. Some pieces featured chronograph functions. Visually, No. 125 350 is an ordinary open-faced men's pocket watch. Only the added central chronograph hand and the push button in the crown suggest the presence of this function. Nos. 124 870 and 125 347 dating from about 1906 are typical examples. Chronograph No. 152 279, made in 1909, has a dial with a pulsometer scale that provides a direct reading of the number of heartbeats per minute.

There is one collection of three nearly identical Gondolos which has been offered at auctions on several occasions. The pieces differ only in terms of size (19, 20, and 21 lignes) and are presented side by side in a box with a red liner. The small size increments of merely 2 and 4 millimeters are visible only when all three timepieces are next to each other. Obviously, some Brazilians wanted more than just one Chronometro Gondolo.

The Gondolo lottery

To promote the sale of its chronometers, Gondolo & Labouriau developed a kind of lottery whose participants were invited to become members of a club called "Piano do Club Patek Philippe System." In 1907, there were already 54 of these clubs. The lottery system was ingenious: The participant agreed to buy a Chronometro Gondolo and pay for it in 79 weekly installments of 10 Swiss francs. Thus, the purchase price was SF790, then equivalent to the annual wage of a worker in a watch factory. The participant also received a subscription number. In weekly drawings, about half the participants won a prize amounting to between 10 and 790 francs. Thus, the luckiest contestants won a full refund of the price they had paid for the watch, provided they had never defaulted on their weekly payments. Additionally, the purchase price had to be paid in full before the company granted the cash prize. This system guaranteed punctual payments and at the same time circumvented a law prohibiting gambling.

The production of Chronometro Gondolo pocket watches ended in 1927 when No.182 588, the last 21 -ligne watch, was delivered to Gondolo & Labouriau.

Patek Philippe began to regularly produce wristwatches in 1910, which is also about when the first wristwatches with the Gondolo & Labouriau signature appeared. The oldest one found so far is No. 138 783 and it was probably built before 1910. Nonetheless, pocket watches still accounted for the bulk of timepieces produced in this period. Gondolo wristwatches were discontinued in 1927/28 around the same time as the pocket watches.

The movements of Gondolo wristwatches have the same features as their larger pocket counterparts: moustache lever, snail regulator adjuster pursuant to the 1881 patent, 9K gold wheels and wolfs-tooth winding wheels. The square socket in the mainspring barrel arbor, implemented without exception in the pocket watches, was sometimes missing in the wristwatches.Gondolo watch movements recovered so far are round, have a diameter of 12 lignes, are made of gold-plated brass, and the shape of the caliber corresponds precisely to the larger pocket watch movements. Allegedly, the blanks are from LeCoultre and if so must have been a caliber made exclusively for Patek Philippe, because their characteristic S-shaped minute train bridge is rare among LeCoultre bridge calibers: it is found only in a 7-ligne (7"'-169) and an 8/9-ligne (8/9'"-168) LeCoultre movement; in all other respects, neither of these movements resemble the caliber used by Patek Philippe. The minute train bridge ordinarily used by LeCoultre was the straight type bent only at the end and integrated in the so-called "revolver" caliber or the scythe-shaped bridge. Conversely, the S-shaped minute train bridge is a typical feature in a Patek Philippe and could even be called one of the company's hallmarks. It is quite likely that LeCoultre was commissioned to fabricate this custom caliber exclusively for Patek Philippe; this would have been consistent with what then was common practice in Switzerland.

Jazz Age wristwatches

Typically for the "Roaring Twenties," Gondolo wristwatches came in many styles: round, square, rectangular, tonneau-shaped, or in a cushion shape called Carré Cambré. To date, only gold cased pieces have been found. The rectangular styles reflect another fad of the 1920s: dials featuring numerals of different sizes. They are very large at the top and bottom of the dial, and just barely half that size in the 3 and 9 o'clock zones. The objective was to visually create the impression of a (nonexistent) camber of the dial. As far as has been ascertained, all of these pieces with different case styles contained the same 12-ligne movement.

The line also included ladies' watches with narrow gold bracelets, but because of the 12-ligne movement, they were rather unladylike in size. Most Gondolo wristwatches with a hinged cover are inscribed "Fabricado expressamente para Gondolo & Labouriau Relojoeiros Rio-de-Janeiro" and "Chronometro Gondolo (serial number) Patek Philippe & Cie Genève," as in the pocket watches. Surprisingly, none of the wristwatches recovered to date has a seconds display. The lack of seconds was commonplace in early wristwatches. It is surprising in Gondolo

wristwatches, however, since due to their sheer size, they were mostly conceived as men's watches and contained movements with the requisite precision.

Most of the dials in Gondolo wristwatches were white enamel, a feature that delightfully sets early wristwatches apart from modern watches. No. 180 784 from 1920 is a particularly beautiful piece. It is in a smooth,- tonneau-shaped gold case with a narrow bezel framing the decorated silver dial. The numerals in the smooth oval are enlarged at the top and bottom, but only moderately. A close inspection of the movement reveals the precision engineering and painstaking finish that characterized Gondolo movements. One noteworthy detail is the small slotted wheel beneath the snail cam regulator adjuster. It has a diameter of only five millimeters. The center on which the snail is mounted is slightly raised relative to the wheel and a small recess turned into wheel visually separates the parts. The radial markers provided as an orientation for the chronometer timer are gold-plated with remarkable precision.

In another rectangular piece (No. 176 231 produced in 1917) with extremely elongated numerals - the 1, 5, 7, and 11 are three times as large as the 3 and the 9 - the oval minute scale is located on the inside of the numerals, which is very rare and somewhat disorienting at first. However, the advantage is that both hands always provide an exact reading of the minutes - even when they are pointing into the "corners" of the watch where their tips would be far away from the minute scale had it been arranged on the outside. The design of the numerals is very artistic as well since nearly none of them are the same size. The diversity of numeral forms is remarkable. They were stylized to match the individual case shapes and of course totally defeated the principle of cost-effective mass production. It is not surprising that these eclectic numerals rapidly disappeared from the market not long after the production of Chronometro Gondolo wristwatches was discontinued. At any rate, they formed a wonderfully refreshing contrast to the conservative pocket watches of the same name. In the 1920s, the wristwatch was an up-and-coming object, which stimulated the imagination of the watch industry, while the pocket watch was in decline.