Important Collectors Wristwatches, P...
Geneva, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Du Rhône, Oct 15, 2006
LOT 390
"Sultan Abdul Hamid II to Prince de Radolin" Breguet, No. 1325, sold to Mir et Coltereau on August 24, 1892. Presented by Sultan Abdul Hamid II of Turkey to Prince de Radolin, German Ambassador to Constantinople in 1894. Extremely fine and very rare, minute repeating, 18K gold and cloisonné enamel astronomic pocket watch with moon phases. Accompanied by a Breguet certificate.
CHF 30,000 - 35,000
EUR 20,000 - 22,000 / USD 25,000 - 28,000
Sold: CHF 123,750
C. Three-body, the bezel and back finely decorated with foiled red, green, blue, gold, pink and white cloisonné enamel in a geometric pattern with stylized flowers and leaves, the bezel decorated to match, the interior of the back with engraved dedication, the band, stem and bow decorated with opaque cream enamel and red and green leaves. D. White enamel with gold painted shadowed Dauphine numerals, outer gold painted minute track, subsidiary seconds, moon phase aperture below 12. Gold "Louis XV" hands. M. 17''', frosted gilt, 29 jewels, counterpoised straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel Breguet balance spring, index regulator, repeating on gongs activated by a slide on the band. Dial signed and numbered. Diam. 46 mm.
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: |
|
Case: 2 |
Very good |
Movement: 3* |
Good Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense |
Dial: 2-01 |
Very good HANDS Original |
Notes
His uncle, Abdul-Aziz, was deposed from the throne of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in 1876 by the Young Turks, a liberal reformist group. Abd al-Hamid's brother, Murad V, succeeded as sultan, but was shortly declared insane, and Abd al-Hamid ascended the throne. For his part in the Armenian massacres of 1894-96, he was called the Great Assassin and the Red Sultan. Ruling as absolute monarch, Abd al-Hamid lived in virtual seclusion. In 1908 the Young Turks, who had penetrated the armed services, revolted and forced the sultan to adhere to the constitution of 1876. He was deposed (1909) when he tried to plot a counterrevolution and was succeeded by his brother, Muhammad V.
Hugo Julius Raoul Eduard Graf von Radolinski, Prince von Radolin (b. 1841 in Posen, d. 1917 in Jarotschin)
Was a diplomat, private secretary to the Kaiser, and German ambassador to several countries, including France, Russia, and Constantinople. He married Lucy Catherine Wakefield in 1863. During the late 19th century, a rapprochement occurred between Germany and the Ottoman Empire, following the resounding defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877?78. Sultan Hamid?s government viewed the united Germany as a possible friend of the empire. German officers were employed to oversee the reorganization of the Ottoman army, and German government officials were brought in to reorganize the Ottoman government's finances. It was no doubt as a token of his government?s friendship toward Germany that Sultan Abdul Hamid II gave the present watch to Prince von Radolin, at the time Germany?s ambassador to Constantinople. The inscription in the interior of the case back reads: II RAD. Maji 787. Sultan Abdul Hamid II au Prince H. de Radolin, Ambassadeur d'Allemagne, Constantinople, 1894. The present watch has a beautifully executed and very high quality cloisonne enamel case which is very unusual to find on a Breguet watch. The combination of the cloisonne case, the minute repeating, the moon phases and the specially "shadowed" gold painted numerals put this watch in the top category of the House of Breguet's output in the late 19th Century. The style of the case shows that it was specifically intended for the eastern market.
Cloisonné enamels
The technique called cloisonné is characterized by a pattern of colored enamel separated by metallic laminae which form the outlines of the design. The techniques of cloisonné and champlevé can be used together; this is called "émaux mixtes". From "A Brief History of Enameling, Part I", by Osvaldo Patrizzi, Vox, Summer 2002.