Sorry if this has been answered already...
Someone posted about this Huret Luxe rear derailleur on ebay:
http://ebay.com/
And Jerry Moos asked
> How do you tell the difference? Looks like a Svelto to me.
Here's a picture of a Svelto:
http://ebay.com/
As you can see,( the Svelto is a bit more cheaply made than the Luxe, and the parallelogram is fixed at the top so the bottom pivots in, like a Campy Gran Sport and so many others.
The Luxe is unusual in that the parallelogram is fixed at the bottom so the top pivots in. Allvits do this too, but the Luxe is lighter and fancier than the Allvit.
The following link is Daniel Rebour's illustration of how the
Allvit/Luxe parallelogram naturally follows the freewheel shape, better
than other derailleurs of the day.
http://bulgier.net/
Here's Rebour's Luxe drawing as used in the Cyclopedia catalog:
http://bulgier.net/
He drew the Luxe Super Touring too:
http://bulgier.net/
Luxes seem rather prone to getting bent (especially the long cage, due to the extra leverage). At least I've found them bent up in bike shop junk bins a few times. But I guess you can say that about most any derailleur ever made. And you can usually bend 'em back - very malleable.
Mark Bulgier
Seattle WA USA