Vintage 1960's Jaeger LeCoultre Atmos Clock #528 -Works

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Vintage 1960's Jaeger LeCoultre Atmos Clock #528 -Works Description Vintage 1960's Era Jaeger LeCoultre Atmos Mantel Clock Model 528 - Works Great. It has serial number 219005 and measures about 8 3/4" tall, the base is 5 1/4" x 7" and the bezel is 4 3/4" wide. It comes complete in fine order, it had been in the same family for decades and has always worked fine. It has been working well on my desk this past week. The brass and glass case are in solid clean complete condition with only a couple very tiny spots of tarnish. It is not marked with a model number but I was told it is a model 528 - please check my photos. We will pack it carefully with lots of cushion double boxed. "Living On Air" The History of the Legendary Atmos Clock: In the late 1920s Jean-Leon Reutter , a young Paris engineer, experimented with a clock that needed no direct mechanical or electrical intervention to keep it wound, in short a clock powered only by Perpetual Motion . For centuries, many scientist including Leonardo Da Vinci had experimented with the idea of Perpetual Motion - however, only J.L. Reutter eventually succeeded at incorporating that novel idea into an actual working clock.Through out his life, J.L. Reutter's dream of a Perpetual Motion timepiece led him to produce a clock with a timekeeping mechanism designed specifically to consume the smallest possible amount of power to keep the clock running satisfactorily.After studying the design of the 400-Day Anniversary Clock -which was very popular during that era - Reutter made significant changes to that concept, to meet the small input power requirement he was looking for in his new clock design.Reutters modifications of the 400-Day Clock included changes to the escapement leverage to reduce the arc of the escapement as well as adding jewels to the bearings of the movement. His new clock ran safely and most importantly very reliably.His new clock design included a special device that would power his clock independently, using a substance that would react to the most sensitive changes in temperature and atmospheric conditions. That substance was mercury . He also designed a special glass tube similar to that of a thermometer for the mercury and encased it all inside a metal cylinder, which is now known as the Bellows . The result of Reutters achievement was an ingenious new clock unlike any other, past or present. A timepiece that could run independently and continuously and so incredibly sensitive, that it could be rewound by the slightest fluctuations in the atmosphere , or by the slightest changes in temperature, hence the name: "Atmos Clock" . Later, due to dangers in handling and instability, the mercury in the Bellows that powered the Atmos Clock was changed to a special more stable saturated gas , known scientifically as 'Ethyl Chloride'. The technological concept of the Gas filled Atmos Bellows is a remarkable one: Inside a sealed capsule, a mixture of gas and liquid expands as the temperature rises and contracts as it falls, moving the capsule back and forth like a tiny unseen accordion. This motion is used to constantly wind the mainspring thus enabling the clock to run and keep perfect time. A small temperature variation of just one degree is sufficient for over two day's operation. Such variation occurs naturally in normal room temperature and thus without any additional sources of energy, the Atmos clock will continue to run if left untouched, "forever". Hence the term: "Living On Air" . The Marriage of Atmos and Jaeger-LeCoultre When Reutters Atmos was in its initial production in the early thirties, the lack of enthusiasm from manufactures in general during that time made production of the Atmos clock difficult. Reutter Atmos was in production, but only in small numbers.Legend has it, while Reutter struggled with production of his Atmos Clock, the manager of a famous Swiss watch making company LeCoultre (a company world famous for fine Swiss watches located i... read more

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