Important Collectors’ Wristwatches, P...

Geneva, Hotel Du Rhone, Apr 02, 2006

LOT 363

?Madame Polovtsoff? Breguet, No. 1083, sold to Madame Polovtsoff (Polovtsov) on December 28, 1893 for 2,400 Francs. Very fine and very rare, silver "hump-back", eight day going, Grande and Petite Sonnerie striking and repeating carriage clock with alarm, original silver-mounted key and the original Breguet gold-tooled red morocco traveling case.

CHF 80,000 - 120,000

108 50,000 - 77,000

Sold: CHF 233,000

C. Three-body, ?hump-back?, polished with hinged bezel and back door. Four bun-feet and silver chain handle. D. Silver with radial Roman numerals, outer minute track with five-minute Arabic numerals, concentric inner alarm setting ring with gold hand, engine-turned center. Blued steel "spade" hands. Gilt brass engine-turned dial plate with signature and number plaques. M. "Hump-back", 13 x 10.5 cm., full plate, cylindrical pillars, two going barrels for going and striking trains and barrel for the alarm, platform with straight line "moustache" lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance with Breguet balance spring, quarter repeating and striking on two gongs, Grande and Petite Sonnerie/Silent selection lever on the backplate, repeating button on the top. Dial signed. Dim. Height 15,5 cm., width 12 cm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good

Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense

Dial: 3-7-01

Good

Oxidized

HANDS Original

Notes

The red morocco traveling box bears a paper label for the Polish retailer, F. Woroniecki, W. Warszawie, No. 107623. Top quality carriage clocks were amongst the most expensive pieces produced by Breguet. Breguet, the inventor of the carriage clock, did not make very many. Only about 200 carriage clocks are mentioned in the registers. Aside from three in the second (Gide) register, the first carriage clock he made was for Napoleon Bonaparte, see: Antiquorum, Geneva, ?The Art of Breguet?, April 14, 1991, lot 10). Of all the Breguet carriage clocks, his humpback model seems to be eternally popular, being reproduced even recently. The shape has retained its modernity and inspired other firms, such as Jump and Cole in England. In recent years, Breguet issued a very small series of humpback silver carriage clocks, practically identical in appearance to the earlier ones. Whist not specifically made for these markets, both the Russians and the English seemed to have been particularly fond of the ?hump-back? model. Of the four Breguet ?hump-back? clocks sold by Antiquorum in the last few years, three were sold to Russian buyers. No. 150 - Sold to Mr. Paschkoff. Antiquorum, Geneva, September 20, 2001, Lot 148. No. 1745 (the same model as the present lot) - Sold to Grand Duke Alexis of Russia. Antiquorum, Geneva, April 24, 2004, Lot 54. No. 2428 (the same model as the present lot) - Sold to The Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia. Antiquorum, Geneva, October 19, 2002, Lot 150. No. 2654 - Sold to Monsieur Bergaud. Antiquorum, Geneva, April 24, 1999, Lot 401. Provenance : Madame Polovtsov, who was the wife of Alexander Alexandrovitch Polovtsov, Russian Secretary of State in the late 19th century. Their beautiful mansion in St Petersburg can still be visited today.