A v v u s - M a n u f a c t u r e H o r l o g è r e D r e s d e n : Eremitage St. Petersburg, Metropolitan Museum of Art-New York, Old Royal Observatory Greenwich, PGH - Uhrentechnik Dresden

 

This Marriage or large caliber (Großkaliber) men’s wrist watch is completely built at our Manufacture in Dresden.
Due to the lack of the original parts and the poor quality of the parts ready available, which would be adequate to the quality of the movement and fulfil our our quality standarts, the parts which where added to this watch where produced specifically for these outstanding piece of art of our production facilities.

 

The Watch

 

The technical Features of the High Grade Movement:

The movement is a high grade 16-jewels precision continental chronometer.

The movement has a crown winding. For this purpose we have chosen a pumpkin shaped crown which was matches exactly to the overall appearance of the case.
The hands set is operated by a setting lever, which can be activated by a pumpkin shaped pusher.
The winding wheels are mounted clearly visible on the barrel plate. They are furnished with a sunburst decoration.The power will be blocked with the help of a screwed and highly polished steel click spring.

To enhance the power coming through the train, the center wheel is provided with a chaton jewel, which is mounted in rosé gold and is screwed threefold. Only jeweled holes minimize reliably the friction due to enormous driving power of the mainspring and consequently the going barrel. The screwed chaton allows the precise adjustment of the wheel and the quick change of the bearing jewel if necessary. All wheel arbors are pivoted and protected by 13 jewels. The two pallets of the pallet fork and the ruby are also jeweled.

The impressive large bimetallic balance wheel with regulation and compensation screws takes nearly the half of the diameter of the movement. Such large balance wheel is another attribute of a lever chronometer. The timing screws are made of rosé gold; the Brequet balance spring is blued.

Typically for Agassiz, the pallet fork is balanced with a dovetail shaped counterweight.

The bars and bridges are decorated with a diamond pattern. They were already in a good condition, but now, after cleaning, they appear in a nice matt finish. The milled out portions of the dial plate have a cloud-shaped pattern.
The train is gold plated.

The flats and beveled edges of all steel parts are polished and underline the outstanding high standard of the movement. All movement side screws, the click spring, the index, the turned parts of the winding wheels as well as the cannon pinion arbor are polished by hand. The steel parts polished with diamantine on a zinc plate or with a special diamond finishing film.

All necessary pivots were also polished; the watch has been adjusted and runs now with good amplitude for over 40 hours per full winding. The movement side is signed with “Agassiz”, under the dial the Agassiz fish symbol is visible.

 

The Dial:
The splendid white single sunk enamel dial is the original dial which belongs to that movement. This dial is free of any damaging or flaws. It was professionally cleaned and shines now in an elegant pure white. The minute register has Roman numerals; the index register for the seconds is furnished with Arabic numerals. The black minute and second marks are kept in contrast with the enamel surface; the plain case matches very well with this elaborate and elegant dial.
The dial is signed with the Agassiz lettering.

 

The Hands:
The original pear style hands are completing the wonderful appearance of this watch. The hands are blued in dark blue and now glowing gorgeous on the enameled dial.

 

The Case and the Crown:
The massive and top quality three-part case of titanium stabilized chrome-nickel steel (stainless steel) was milled especially for this movement.
It was adjusted precisely to the movement, so that we were able to leave out a movement holding ring. The movement is fixed with its original case screws. The case body was milled out of one piece of stainless steel with a KERN Pyramid Nano, one of the most precise CNC-controlled milling machines of the world.

 

The case is designed as a three-part classical case!

That means, the case consists of a snap-on bezel with a mirror (reflector), the middle part and the screwed bottom bezel with a large window. Thereby the movement could be fixed with its original case screws, like it was constructed for the original pocket watch case. The movement will be brought in the case from above and fixed from the back with the case screws.
Both bezels are sealed with rubber gaskets.
And the fixing holes for the strap spring bar is drilled from inside the strap bars of the case. Therefore they are not visible.
The very hard used parts, the crown and the case tubes, are plated with Rhodium, one of the hardest and most expensive metals of the world.

This is highest quality of case construction !!!

And that we can offer, because we manufacture the cases itselves completely in Dresden.

The stainless steel case is polished by hand.

The six-point screwed and glazed bezel on the back of the case enables the view into the impressing movement. The bezel is signed with our signature and the Avvus watch code.
Between the six bezel screws is engraved by hand:

 

"Avvus Manufacture Horlogére Dresden TC-ER-MK No. 26469"

 

This signature is registered by us, and displays the marriage not only as an unmistakable unique, but also identifies this watch as yours.

 

The Glasses:
The glasses are from the stock of one of the most famous manufacturer of watch glasses of the world:
Münchmeyer-Sternkreuz / Germany.
Both glasses are from the highest quality and are chemically tempered against breakage.
The watch is provided with the mineral glasses for both sides. The upper and the bottom glass type MS is flat and matt faceted. The glasses comes from a old stock, because crystals in those sizes are very hard to find in nowadays production.
In a thin construction of an old pocket watch crystals you can find the combination of decently reserved appearance and capability to resist the problems of a daily wear.

 

The Strap:
The 20 mm lug to lug width is probably the only harmonic option for a 41 mm case. Of cause it is possible to buy readymade 20 mm straps, but they are mostly of a very simple quality. Due to fact that they are too thin for a thick case, they leave a bad impression.

Therefore we let produce our straps, individually for every single case, from the top grade manufacturer Rios1931 - Germany

A RIOS1931 watch strap guarantees carefully selected leather and skilled, lasting craftsmanship. Their philosophy: the preservation of manual skills without sacrificing design ideas and future-pointing trends. The special care with which a RIOS1931 watch strap is crafted puts them under an obligation which also extends to the choice of auxiliary materials.

The Swiss full-bug technique - it's the love for detail that makes all the difference

You can recognize a RIOS1931 watch strap by a following quality feature, that became a rarity in our fast-moving times of mass production:
the traditional full-bug or full-turned technique.
Nothing less than this special handicraft technique can meet our quality standards and guarantee such unparalleled lasting value.

 

The full-bug strap "ART MANUEL" is the high-end technique for the most exclusive articles of RIOS1931. First the upper leather (bug mantle) is turned around the fleece padding and tucked under the leather lining, glued and thus double stitched.Then the edges will smoothed with heat, sanded down and then painted 5 times with edge dye. Loops and buckle flap are stitched by hand.

There are needed up to 175 operations for manufacturing the ART MANUELL Straps of RIOS1931 and are some of the most elaborate and exclusive watch straps of the world !!!

These strap is made by finest plain needlework of black fine structured and genuine alligator leather. The fine structured leather from the flank of the alligator is particular soft and smooth.

 

Of course the strap comes with the species protection tag of the IRV, the international association of reptile leathers and of CITES - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (www.irv-ra.de) The IRV-flag guarantees, that the leather complies with all stipulations regarding species protection in accordance with the Washington Species Protection Agreement.

 

Over the length the strap tapers from 20 mm to 18 mm and is continually decreases in thickness. Therefore the band has an adequate thickness at the case side of 6 mm and a flexible thin end of 3 mm at the buckle side. So the strap has to be wedge-shaped. And this you obtain through the complex lamination of the strap.
The different layers of the strap are stitched together with a fine quilting seam, tone-in-tone with the colour of the leather.
The massive buckle is made of stainless steel and is signed with our manufacturer logo "Avvus"

The Watch Box:
We deliver your watch in a luxury and fine elaborated walnut veneered watch box. The color of lining is crème. The metal fittings are nickel plated. These watch box will be certainly the depository of your precious watch.

 

The Shipping and Payment

 

Within Germany:
we usually send with a courier service, because all German parcel services do not insure luxury watches; the shipping with a courier service within Germany is fully insured.

Within Germany we only accept payments via bank transfer.
PLEASE NO PAYPAL WITHIN GERMANY!!!

 

Worldwide:
Within the EU, Europe outside the EU and worldwide we are shipping with DHL.
We send in the EU, Europe outside the EU and worldwide fully insured.

In the EU, Europe outside the EU and worldwide we accept PayPal only.

The shipping charges are listed below.

 

The History:

Agassiz - Geneva
watch manufacture

The Agassiz’ story began in 1832, when Auguste Agassiz, brother of naturalist Louis Agassiz, found a job in the hamlet of Saint-Imier, joining Comptoir Horloger Raiguel Jeune (a trader of watch parts), in 1833 taking over the business when he and two of his associates set up a company named Comptoir Raiguel Jeue & Cie. The venture was run on the then-prevailing business model based on piecework by people making or processing watch parts in their own homes for the account of a jobber who delivered the blanks, or rough parts, and picked up and paid for the finished ones. The company soon found ways to market its timepieces in distant markets, not least in the Americas.

Agassiz & Compagnie

In 1847 Agassiz became the sole owner of the company which he renamed Agassiz & Compagnie. In 1852, his nephew Ernest Francillon joined the company. During the 1850s, Francillon took over the business from his ailing uncle, focusing on increasing and improving the production of standard watch designs.

Ancienne Maison Auguste Agassiz, Ernest Francillon, successeur

In 1862 Francillon renamed the venture Ancienne Maison Auguste Agassiz, Ernest Francillon, successeur, adding his own name to his uncle’s, but acknowledging the latter’s pioneering role. As he took over day-to-day management, Francillon looked for ways of improving and streamlining production, then parceled out to a number of different sites. His idea was to gather everything under one roof, in keeping with his vision of a factory where mechanical manufacturing and assembly methods would enable him to make and finish watches in one integrated process.

Les Longines

From this perspective, in 1866, Francillon purchased two adjoining plots of land at a place locally known as Les Longines (meaning "long and narrow fields" in the local dialect) on the right bank of the River Suze in the Saint-Imier valley. Here he built a factory, to gather the entire production under one roof. By 1867, Francillon had convinced some of his pieceworkers to transfer their activities to his newly built factory and hired a young kinsman, the engineer Jacques David, to help him devise the tools and machines which he needed to improve the manufacturing processes. Despite various setbacks, the Longines factory’s prosperous growth vindicated Francillon’s bold vision. Mechanization of the production processes was successfully implemented thanks to Jacques David’s talent at conceiving and building machines that seconded watchmakers in their tasks and improved the quality of their work.

The Philadelphia Universal Exhibition of 1876

Convinced of the merit of mechanical production, Jacques David traveled to the Philadelphia Universal Exhibition of 1876 and returned to write a report that triggered a wide-ranging debate within the Swiss watch industry of his day.

Manufacture Longines

The first in-house Longines movement was created in 1867. Francillon was the first watchmaker to introduce the winding crown. All watches before that were wound with a key. The same year Ernest Francillon returned from the World's Fair in Paris with a bronze medal for this watch. From the 1870s on, Longines’ industrial options proved judicious and the company grew steadily until the first third of the 20th century. The buildings themselves regularly had to be adapted to the needs of a flourishing enterprise which, by 1911, employed over 1,100 people and sold its timepieces worldwide

VISIT OUR HOMEPAGE!

We are able to offer movements of many manufacturers. Please ask for them.
Inter alia we can offer the watches with the movements by:
Patek Philippe, Julius Assmann, Tiffany, Agassiz, Meylan (Leonville), IWC, Dürrstein, Union, Longines, Heuer, LePhare, LeCoultre, Touchon, Chronographs, Moon-Phases, Repeaters und old english fusee movements.

Visit us on our homepage at "avvus.de", there you can find at "Projekte" all movements we keep in stock and we are able to build in a Mariage case.