Jean Léon REUTTER (1899-1971) - Lot 190

Jean Léon REUTTER (1899-1971) CLOCK model ATMOS in chromed metal, the skeleton dial with the hours in Arabic numerals rests on a slightly trapezoidal base with locking system, plate attached to the back "Brevets J.L. Reutter S.G.D.G made in France", dog collar balance wheel, dial stained, mechanism to be overhauled NO WARRANTY OF OPERATION Numbered 4807 23.5 x 17.5 x 14 cm. The Atmos owes its origins to Swiss engineer Jean-Léon Reutter (de) (1899-1971), who devoted his entire life to the search for perpetual motion. To this end, he studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, then at the Ecole supérieure d'électricité in Paris. His invention in 1928 quickly made a name for itself in the international scientific community. However, Reutter encountered difficulties in mass-marketing his invention. He further perfected his pendulum, and a new version was launched in 1930, two years after the previous version, making it the first to be marketed. Jacques-David LeCoultre, grandson of the founder of the Jaeger-LeCoultre company, discovered this clock by chance in the window of a Parisian watchmaker. Intrigued by the invention he had heard about, he bought a copy and set about studying it. In 1932, Jean-Léon Reutter and the watchmakers at Jaeger-LeCoultre began collaborating on an in-depth study of the Atmos clock.