A Phantom Timepiece with Leon Hatot's Patented Automatic Winding Mechanism Arrives. A watch with a complete story, including its structure, history, and verification process, for which a certificate was obtained by visiting the BLANCPAIN headquarters.
"PRINCIPE PRIVE - Epoca d’Oro" has received a rare BLANCPAIN vintage watch, circa 1925, featuring Leon Hatot's patented automatic winding and jumping hour mechanisms. It comes with an authenticity certificate from BLANCPAIN's Geneva headquarters, emphasizing its historical value.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 27, 2026 at 18:30
- 🔍 Collected: April 27, 2026 at 10:01
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 27, 2026 at 10:08 (6 min after Collected)
A phantom timepiece with an automatic winding mechanism invented by Leon Hatot and a jumping hour feature.
"PRINCIPE PRIVE - Epoca d’Oro," which selects vintage watches from the 1940s to the 90s with its unique aesthetic sense and is highly regarded by domestic and international watch collectors and fashionistas, has received a phantom timepiece produced by BLANCPAIN around 1925.
This rare piece, housed in an unusual 18k solid gold rectangular case measuring approximately 30mm x 45mm for its time, contains Leon Hatot's patented automatic winding mechanism with jumping hour.
Furthermore, to verify its authenticity, the previous owner visited the BLANCPAIN headquarters factory near Geneva and personally requested an appraisal. This piece has a complete story, including its structure, history, and verification process, with an official certificate and archives.
We hope you enjoy the story of how the Hatot-style automatic winding mechanism came to be adopted, its history, and its journey to the present, experiencing the luxury of owning time.
## Hatot-style Automatic Winding Mechanism where the Base Lever Winds by Moving Up and Down
The structure itself is a philosophy.
An intermediate wheel that transmits torque to the mainspring, and a fence designed to be the same size as the case surrounding the movement. A movable base lever connected beyond this slides the internal mechanism in conjunction with the watch's vertical movement. A rocking click attached to the base lever and a fixed rocking click wind the intermediate wheel, transmitting power to the mainspring.
This is the mechanism known as "lever up-down automatic winding."
Furthermore, by embedding a ball in this sliding part, the mechanism was named "ROLLS."
This mechanism was developed by Leon Hatot.
He advocated a "perpetual dream" and successfully started manufacturing watches at his own workshop in 1911 at just 23 years old.
At that time, John Harwood had already developed the world's first automatic winding mechanism for wristwatches.
That mechanism, after joint production with the ébauche manufacturer A SHIELD, was adopted by Fortis in 1926 and announced as the world's first automatic wristwatch in Basel. Harwood then expanded by offering the production and sales rights of his mechanism to various companies, and in 1926, Blancpain, which had overwhelming capital, acquired the sales rights for all of Europe. Automatic winding began to shift to a market monopolized by Blancpain.
Against this background, it was a natural progression for Hatot's mechanism to become important to Blancpain.
In 1929, Hatot's automatic winding mechanism was patented as "Hatot Patent," and its development was undertaken by Blancpain.
## No Crown, Time Adjustment by Opening the Case and Turning an Internal Gear
The piece introduced here is equipped with that Hatot patented automatic winding mechanism.
An extremely rare piece where a mechanism originally developed for ladies' size was expanded to men's size through co-development with Blancpain. Currently, no confirmed pieces exist in the global market.
A particularly noteworthy feature is the jumping hour mechanism.
It is a counter-style display with number dials on the hour wheel and minute wheel, and there are no ordinary hands. The time switches as the minute display progresses, and its behavior, transitioning to the next hour around the 40-minute mark, can be said to be a unique charm of this mechanism.
Furthermore, this timepiece is a fully automatic winding specification, and like Harwood's, it has no crown.
Time adjustment is done by opening the case and turning a serrated lever inside with a finger. Normally, there would be concerns about dust entering when opening and closing the case, but due to the fence structure, which is the core of the Hatot type, there is almost no external ingress path other than around the lever, making it a carefully calculated structure.
However, this Hatot-style automatic winding was eventually pushed aside by the widespread adoption of the Harwood style and disappeared from history.
## Approx. 30mm x 45mm Solid Gold Rectangular Case
This piece features an 18k solid gold rectangular case.
At approximately 30mm x 45mm, it was an unusually large size for its time, and its presence boasts a wider proportion that surpasses even the Rolex Prince.
A substantial 18k solid gold case, a jumping hour, and the rare Hatot-style automatic winding mechanism. All of these are integrated into one piece. The dial and everything else remain in their original condition.
Part of the archives issued by BLANCPAIN 1 Part of the archives issued by BLANCPAIN 2
"PRINCIPE PRIVE - Epoca d’Oro," which selects vintage watches from the 1940s to the 90s with its unique aesthetic sense and is highly regarded by domestic and international watch collectors and fashionistas, has received a phantom timepiece produced by BLANCPAIN around 1925.
This rare piece, housed in an unusual 18k solid gold rectangular case measuring approximately 30mm x 45mm for its time, contains Leon Hatot's patented automatic winding mechanism with jumping hour.
Furthermore, to verify its authenticity, the previous owner visited the BLANCPAIN headquarters factory near Geneva and personally requested an appraisal. This piece has a complete story, including its structure, history, and verification process, with an official certificate and archives.
We hope you enjoy the story of how the Hatot-style automatic winding mechanism came to be adopted, its history, and its journey to the present, experiencing the luxury of owning time.
## Hatot-style Automatic Winding Mechanism where the Base Lever Winds by Moving Up and Down
The structure itself is a philosophy.
An intermediate wheel that transmits torque to the mainspring, and a fence designed to be the same size as the case surrounding the movement. A movable base lever connected beyond this slides the internal mechanism in conjunction with the watch's vertical movement. A rocking click attached to the base lever and a fixed rocking click wind the intermediate wheel, transmitting power to the mainspring.
This is the mechanism known as "lever up-down automatic winding."
Furthermore, by embedding a ball in this sliding part, the mechanism was named "ROLLS."
This mechanism was developed by Leon Hatot.
He advocated a "perpetual dream" and successfully started manufacturing watches at his own workshop in 1911 at just 23 years old.
At that time, John Harwood had already developed the world's first automatic winding mechanism for wristwatches.
That mechanism, after joint production with the ébauche manufacturer A SHIELD, was adopted by Fortis in 1926 and announced as the world's first automatic wristwatch in Basel. Harwood then expanded by offering the production and sales rights of his mechanism to various companies, and in 1926, Blancpain, which had overwhelming capital, acquired the sales rights for all of Europe. Automatic winding began to shift to a market monopolized by Blancpain.
Against this background, it was a natural progression for Hatot's mechanism to become important to Blancpain.
In 1929, Hatot's automatic winding mechanism was patented as "Hatot Patent," and its development was undertaken by Blancpain.
## No Crown, Time Adjustment by Opening the Case and Turning an Internal Gear
The piece introduced here is equipped with that Hatot patented automatic winding mechanism.
An extremely rare piece where a mechanism originally developed for ladies' size was expanded to men's size through co-development with Blancpain. Currently, no confirmed pieces exist in the global market.
A particularly noteworthy feature is the jumping hour mechanism.
It is a counter-style display with number dials on the hour wheel and minute wheel, and there are no ordinary hands. The time switches as the minute display progresses, and its behavior, transitioning to the next hour around the 40-minute mark, can be said to be a unique charm of this mechanism.
Furthermore, this timepiece is a fully automatic winding specification, and like Harwood's, it has no crown.
Time adjustment is done by opening the case and turning a serrated lever inside with a finger. Normally, there would be concerns about dust entering when opening and closing the case, but due to the fence structure, which is the core of the Hatot type, there is almost no external ingress path other than around the lever, making it a carefully calculated structure.
However, this Hatot-style automatic winding was eventually pushed aside by the widespread adoption of the Harwood style and disappeared from history.
## Approx. 30mm x 45mm Solid Gold Rectangular Case
This piece features an 18k solid gold rectangular case.
At approximately 30mm x 45mm, it was an unusually large size for its time, and its presence boasts a wider proportion that surpasses even the Rolex Prince.
A substantial 18k solid gold case, a jumping hour, and the rare Hatot-style automatic winding mechanism. All of these are integrated into one piece. The dial and everything else remain in their original condition.
Part of the archives issued by BLANCPAIN 1 Part of the archives issued by BLANCPAIN 2