Chaumet Jump Hour 10A

Chaumet 10A 'Jump Hour' - White Gold

Parisian manufacturer Chaumet can trace it's roots back to 1780 as a storied purveyor of fine jewelry and goods to the French elite and royalty. The brands focus has always been centered around bespoke, statement-making jewelry and accessories, which continues until this day, but Chaumet has also made a number of interesting horological footprints over their nearly two and half century history. One such stamp on horology is the production of the first watch bracelets in the early nineteenth century. Another being the involvement of the Chaumet family in the revival of the one-and-only Breguet in the 1970s with the help and expertise of what are now stories names: Daniel Roth and Michel Parmigiani. Chaumet's involvement in the world of watches starting in the second half of the twentieth-century has largely been geared-towards design-forward watchmaking with interesting case shapes and high-end dial work. Not at all dissimilar to that of Cartier, Piaget, etc. The piece that we have here today is something of a departure from the pieces that proceeded it but has gained quite a bit of traction in the recent years with the resurgence (a long overdue one at that) of smaller, design-forward dress pieces amongst collectors. This 'Jump Hour' Ref. 10A fuses Art Deco styling from the early twentieth century with a bit of mid-century whimsy. Coming in at 36mm in diameter this piece features a distinctive, unmistakable 'UFO' or 'disco volante' round case with hidden 'T' lugs and a pointed crown. The case has an entirely smooth polished surface, with the exception of the two sapphire glass aperture windows, which reveal hour and minute disks in place of a traditional handset. The disks themselves are white in color with a fantastic stylized-font in a gorgeous deep navy blue. Powering this piece is a proven automatic-winding movement from ETA and is operated via that striking shaped crown. Last but not least, this piece is constructed out of solid white gold. While by no means common , the 10A is generally found in yellow gold, with this being the far rarer of the two metals. It comes fitted with its original navy blue alligator leather strap and signed white gold buckle. A truly gorgeous spec right out of the factory! With the rise in popularity of artistic, design-forward watches such as this showing no signs of stopping (good, we're here for it), this could be the last opportunity to score on an excellent 10A, as these do not surface on the open market often, let alone in the more elusive of the two metals. We are thrilled to have spent some time with this one and have it offered on the site. Movement: Automatic-winding ETA. Calibre 2892-2 modified by Chaumet. Bracelet/Strap: Original Chaumet signed navy blue alligator leather strap with original signed white gold buckle. The strap is in excellent condition. The buckle shows light signs of wear.