A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte

AN UNUSUAL PINK GOLD OPEN-FACED KEYLESS LEVER WATCH WITH FLEISCHHAUER-PATENTED CALENDAR SOLD TO ITS INVENTOR OTTO FLEISHHAUER IN 1886 NO. 6141

• Movement: 2nd quality, cal. 43 gilt ¾ plate movement, gold lever and escape wheel, bi-metallic compensation balance, ruby endstone, screwed gold chatons, signed and numbered A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte, b/Dresden 6141
• Dial: central white enamel dial, Roman numerals, inner red Arabic 10-minute divisions, subsidiary seconds, gold Louis XV style hour and minute hands, matt gilded outer ring calibrated with the date and inset with month aperture, the text for the months alternating from red to black, inner gilt matte chapter ring calibrated with days of the week, repeated five times, days denoted by their first letter, with a blank space indicating Sunday, push piece at 1 o'clock for setting month and date, push piece above 11 o'clock for hand-set, central blued steel half-moon date indicator hand
• Case: "Bassine" 18ct pink gold case, plain polished back, plain polished pink gold cuvette, case back and cuvette numbered 6141
diameter 51mm

Provenance:
Accompanied by a certificate of origin from the Deutsches Uhrenmuseum, Glashütte confirming the date of sale on 1st May 1886 to Engineer Otto Fleischhauer, Berlin for 433. -M.
The calendar in the style of German Imperial Patent No. 25 267 by Otto Fleischhauer (1883).

The present lot is one of approximately 30 watches created to the specifications of Otto Fleischhauer's calendar patent. Interestingly, this piece was purchased by the inventor himself.

Fleischhauer registered his patent, no. 25267 in Berlin on June 5th, 1883 and engaged Moritz Grossmann to design and produce his calendar watches. However, following Grossmann's sudden death, Lange acquired the movements and completed them. Apparently, the watches did not enjoy great popularity, as production lasted only from 1886-1887.

The 'Fleischhauer' movements were sold with Lange numbers, but a few of them (such as the present example) retained Grossmann's numbering. The calendar is adjusted via a pusher beneath the crown above one o'clock - with the button depressed, the month is advanced by turning the crown to the right, whilst turning the crown to the left advances the date.

For a similar A. Lange & Söhne with Fleischhauer’s patent see: Sotheby's New York, 6 December 2017, lot 806. Fleischhauer's design drawings and the patent for this watch can be found in Reinhard Meis, A. Lange & Söhne, the Watchmakers of Dresden, 1997, pp. 332 & 340.