DESCRIPTION:
EPW - C.H. Meylan, Brassus, fine gold watch with presentation to historically significant U.S. Naval aviator, mvt and dial marked for retailer Marcus & Co., New York, 46mm, 18K gold OF case with "J.R." initials to rear, hidden rear hinge, gold cuvette engraved "Adventure of the Crew of PN.9.1. Presented to Commander John Rodgers, U.S.N. by The Associated Press as a souvenir of enrollment as a member of the staff September 11, 1925," silvered dial with applied gold numerals, SW-SS, lever escapement with capped escape wheel, 19J, fausses-côtes pattern nickel damascene, s#32137. Gross weight of assembled watch 44.3 dwt (68.9 g). Commander John Rodgers is a notable figure in U.S. Naval history, and in 1911 Rodgers became just the second man to quality as a U.S. Naval aviator. On August 31st, 1925, Rodgers led the first attempt at non-stop flight between San Francisco and Honolulu which was a daunting task at that time in terms of both aviation technology and aerial navigation. This endeavor was unsuccessful as Rodgers' plane ran out of fuel approximately 25 hours after takeoff and the plane was forced down at sea. A large scale Naval search in the following days proved unsuccessful as the plane had lost radio function, and it was feared that all were lost to sea. Undaunted though, Rodgers and crew ripped fabric from the wings of the planes and from this material created sails to continue on for Hawaii. After nine days and over 400 miles of successful navigation of the downed aircraft at sea, Rodgers' plane was sighted on September 10th by the crew of submarine R-4 approximately 15 miles off the shore of the Hawaiian island of Kauai, and the plane was towed to shore with great rejoicing. On September 11th while aboard the U.S.S. MacDonough, Rogers wrote and submitted a detailed account of his adventure to The Associated Press and this story was published in newspapers throughout the Western hemisphere. In recognition of this superbly written account, the present watch was awarded by The Associated Press to Rodgers in February of 1926. This presentation, along with the simultaneous presentation of a similar gold watch to Captain George Fried who wrote an account of his January, 1926 rescue of the crew of British steamship Antinoe, marked the first instance of this Associated Press award being bestowed on laymen outside the news industry. Among our images with this lot please observe reproduced articles from the September 12th, 1925 edition of the "Hawaii Tribune Herald" and the February 6th, 1926 edition of "The Orlando Sentinel" which respectively are Commander Rodgers' first person account of the event and a description of the awarding of the present watch. This lot is further accompanied by some additional literature regarding Rodgers and the events of the PN.9.1 flight.
CONDITION:
Mvt: Running, nearly mint cosmetic mvt condition overall, few small fine to micro-fine scratches; nearly flawless dial, visible portion with few micro-fine scratches and minuscule surface marks, some more profuse surface marks at perimeter under bezel; nearly mint hands, minuscule speck of oxide at tip of minute; inner rim of case rear has a semi-circular mark near present mvt's case screw position but we question whether this is indeed a sign of recasing, case shows hardly any wear, tarnish to bezel, few fine scratches and more profuse micro-fine scratches, no dents or dings, excellent engraving detail; tight bow, crown shows hardly any wear; good glass crystal.
ESTIMATE:
$1200
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$2400
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