Rosneathian
1471
Calling all owners of the Chronometro Gondolo
Oi, tudo bem?
This is a 1903 Chronometro Gondolo, first sold in February 1904 by Rio-based retailer Gondolo & Labouriau.
18K yellow gold and 56mm, this Lepine pocket watch is the largest of nine sizes produced between c.1903 and c.1927.
It would be nice to hear from anyone who has one of his/her own. There are still owners in Brazil, some of whom I'm contacting through Brazilian family and acquaintances. If you are from Brazil or from the 'international community' of collectors, would be happy to connect.
I'm interested in owner accounts, mainly in but not limited to Brazil. This is to add depth to Patek Philippe's own branding efforts, which only captures part of the story of these watches.
Muito obrigado e com os melhores cumprimentos!
Calling all owners of the Chronometro Gondolo
Oi, tudo bem? This is a 1903 Chronometro Gondolo, first sold in February 1904 by Rio-based retailer Gondolo & Labouriau. 18K yellow gold and 56mm, this Lepine pocket watch is the largest of nine sizes produced between c.1903 and c.1927. It would be nice t...
You’re welcome. I’m less interested in Patek Philippe’s part in the story. Much of it is intertwined with company branding and heritage management.
Of greater interest to me is the history and stories that surrounded these watches in Brazil. I’ve begun to assemble some material from Brazil’s national archives, family histories, news and topical magazines, and commercial publications. But there are la...
This is a nice piece of history and craftmanship. Hope you will be able to find more of the information you are looking for!
And congrats on getting this watch.
If you are specifically interested by the Chronometro Gondolo version, here you are
Unfortunately gone years ago, I still kick my a... for letting it go I still have another PP very rare one but not this one ...
Thanks for sharing. Can you recall the date of manufacture and first sale of this particular watch in Brazil?
Also, were you able to uncover any further circumstantial details around it? I'm interested in Brazil-specific accounts surrounding the purchase, ownership and legacy of these watches beyond the rather general and oft-repeated tidbit available online. Muc...
Sorry I don't have much info left
That was many years ago and I stupidly did not make copies or photos of the Extract from the Archives, so I have no way now to figure out the date of original purchase. Maybe from the serial number but I am not sure... Herebelow few additional pics I had ...
That's very kind of you to share. Much appreciated.
It can be hard to dig up information about these watches from Brazil in the first three decades of the century. There have been few in-depth articles over the last 20 years. The stand-out was one in a German watch collectors' journal in 2002. One Portugue...
