Ca. Ø54mm, ca. 142g, 18K gold, à-goutte case, engine turned, back with fine quality intertwined monogram, dome with enamel work of the very highest quality attributed to the famous John Graff, probably representation of a wedding couple, Ankerchronometer, wolf's toothing, early version of a top quality chronograph, gold wheels, case and movement woth matching numbers, signed enamel dial in very good condition, blued steel hands, in excellent condition, unique collector's piece, highly interesting both for the technical design of the chronograph and for the superb famous enamel painting. Provenance Antiquorum, Geneva, 11 November 2002, 'A Tribute to Precision andplicated Horology', lot 113, sold for the amount of 14,950CHF. Lardet, Charles-Edouard (Fleurier 1832; Madrid 1904), watchmaker, originally from Val-de-Travers, who settled in Spain. From 1877 he was Consul General of Switzerland in Madrid. Lardet, who was highly respected and influential in Madrid, rendered large services to the Helvetic Confederation in the difficult times the country was going through at the time. 'The modern chronograph with the functions 'start', 'stop' and 'return to zero' was invented by Adolphe Nicole in London in 1861 (British invention patent no. 1 461 of 14 May 1862) and presented at the Great Exhibition in London in 1862. In 1868, the Geneva watchmaker Auguste Baud (1825-1894) decided to place the entire chronograph mechanism behind the calibre of the watch to facilitate assembly and adjustment. He very soon collaborated with Adrien Philippe (1815-1894), one of the founders of Patek Philippe, and developed numerous watches for the Geneva manufacture between 1870 and 1880. In 1878, during the World Exhibition in Paris, Auguste Baud received a bronze medal for his invention. At the same time, the ultra-fine chronograph presented here was manufactured.