Important Watches, Wristwatches and C...

Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, Oct 12, 1996

LOT 310

Breguet No. 115, sold to Monsieur le Duc d'Aussana on 29 Vendemiaire an 8 (21st October 1799), for 2800 Francs. Very fine and important 18K gold, dumb quarter repeating watch "a toc", constructed sur le principe des Garde-Temps.

CHF 60,000 - 70,000

Sold: CHF 82,700

C. Three body, made by Bapst on the typical Garde-Temps form, the back engraved with the monogram"A.B."surmounted by a Ducal crown. Gilt brass cuvette secured by a screw. D. White enamel by Cave, with Breguet numerals and early style "star" minute divisions, off-set sunk subsidiary seconds, secret signature below chapter "12" (almost invisible hairlines). Blued steel Breguet hands. M. Gilt brass, 22", full plate calibre with turned pillars, the going barrel passing through the back plate, straight line lever escapement of the first type, without draw, with jewelled pallets, the escape wheel with slotted teeth to retain oil, three-arm compensation balance of Arnold type with the timing weights threaded onto the end of the rim segments. Free sprung blued steel helical balance spring with double terminal curves. Dumb repeating with a massive single hammer armed by depressing the pendant, the speed adjustable by a small lever in the band. Signed on the dial, on the cuvette and on the dial plate. In very good condition. Diam. 55 mm.


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Notes

This watch is most interesting by the fact it embodies almost all the features to be found on the first series of "perpetual" watches, from which it differs only by the lack of the selfwinding mechanism. The shape of the case, the type of lever escapement (drawn and described by George Daniels in The Art of Breguet, pp.306 and 307) is similar to that used by Breguet for the "perpetuelles", although the banking fork is slightly different being off-set to one side of the lever tail. An all-or-nothing system is incorporated in the repeating train, allowing the hammer to engage only when the pendant is fully depressed. Together with the "perpetuelles" watches which marked his worldwide reputation, this watch can be considered as the top quality of Breguet's production for the period following the French Revolution. Altogether with lot 315 these two Garde-Temps, are extremely fine examples of the top quality watches ever produced by Breguet, at the beginning and at the end of his career.