Important Collectors’ Wristwatches Po...

New York, Mar 15, 2006

LOT 211

?Répétition Minutes? Breguet, ?Répétition Minutes?, No. 1430, Ref. 3187. Made in the 1990s, limited production of 9 pieces. Very fine and rare, minute-repeating, 18K yellow gold gentleman's wristwatch with regulator dial and an 18K yellow gold Breguet buckle.

USD 120,000 - 180,000

EUR 100,000 - 150,000

C. Three-body, solid, polished, reeded band, straight lugs, gold screwed bars, transparent case back, sapphire crystals. D. "Guilloché" silver with outer minute graduation on a plain reserve and Arabic numerals for the 15, 30 and 45 minutes, subsidiary ring dial with painted radial Roman numerals for the hours at 12. Blued steel "Breguet" hands. M. Cal. 567, rhodium-plated, "fausses côtes" decoration, 30 jewels, straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance adjusted to 5 positions, shock-absorber, self-compensating Breguet balance-spring, micrometer regulator, repeating on gongs by activating slide on the band. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 37 mm. Thickness: 10 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 1

As new
Movement: 1

As new
Dial: 1-01

As new

HANDS Original

Notes

What is a Minute Repeater? A minute repeating watch tells the time both visually and audibly. A slide on the side of the case, usually near the 9, will activate two hammers in the movement. These hammers strike two gongs curled within the case. First one hammer strikes a gong of lower tonality; it will count out the hours. Then both hammers will strike both gongs alternatively to count out the quarter hours after that hour, and then the second hammer alone striking a gong of higher tonality will count out the minutes after that quarter hour. The repeating mechanism was developed by Daniel Quare. In 1687, he had patented a mechanism that sounded the hours and the quarter hours. The early repeaters used bells. At the end of the 18th century, two bent-wire gongs became the more popular mechanism. In 1892, the first minute repeater wristwatch was produced by Omega, a model with a round-shaped case.