ref.96
Yellow, Sector

A fine and extremely rare 18k yellow gold manual winding wristwatch ref.96 with two tone sector dial.
With Certificate of Origin and extract from the Archives confirming production of the movement in 1913 and the time piece wa sold in 1936. Extract also confirmed the type of the dial as silvered and raised gold arabic numerals at 3,6,9 and 12.

A representative of the first decade of production of the iconic reference 96, this example was sold in 1936, only five years after the introduction of the reference. The second half of the 1930s is renowned among collectors for being the most fertile creative ground in regards to sector dials. Curiously, one can identify a specific trend: dials realised close to the mid 1930s usually sport complex sector dials, the designs getting more sparse the closer one gets to 1940. The present watch indeed features an elaborate sector dial characterised by two alternating tones for a total of 5 sectors: the small outer edge of the dial, a track for the minute/fifth-of-a-second divines, a “buffer” track, a sector for the hour indexes, and finally the center of the dial.
Adding to the supreme balance of the sectorial architecture, the present dial furthermore sports applied numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9, granting the ensemble more diversity while at the same time boosting the overall symmetry of the design.