Only one other similar carriage clock by Breguet is known to date. It houses the movement No. 2516 and was sold in 1811. It is described and illustrated by George Daniels in his "The Art of Breguet", London & New York, 1975, p.216. Presumably the present clock and the one in the Daniels book were specially made to the client's specifications. It is very rare to find a Breguet clock in such excellent condition, and still with its original box, due to its having been preserved with care by severalgenerations of the same family.The von Fersens of Sweden: two generations of connoisseurs of fine horology. Among them, Axel von Fersen, who lived much of his life in France, and Gustaf Hans von Fersen, his nephew, and the last direct male heir to the dynasty.The Fersens were an important and politically influential family, which had arrived in Sweden from the Baltic countries during the 17th century. Every generation had close ties with the Swedish royal family, serving at court, being counselors to the king, or holding a military command. Fredrik Axel von Fersen (the father of Axel von Fersen), marÈchal des armÈes, was the richest man of his time and one of the most influential. He possessed several ch?teaux in Sweden, as well as an iron mine in Filand. Fredrik Axel von Fersen had two sons, Hans Axel and Fabian Reinhold, and a daughter, Sophie.Axel von Fersen (1755-1810)The best known of the family, Axel von Fersen, was the paternal uncle of the original owner of this clock. In the course of his travels through Europe as a young man, he became close to the French Royal family.The young Fersen took part in the expeditionary corps sent by France to help the rebels in the American War of Independence. Pleased and proud to at last begin an active military career, he was made colonel and served as interpreter (he spoke English, French, German, and Italian in addition to his mother tongue, Swedish) and aide-de-camp to French General Rochambeau. In 1780 he set sail aboard the Jason for a 3-month journey, living on a diet he was unused to : dry biscuits, salt meat, and thinsoup. Shortly after his arrival, in October 1780, he met General Washington in Hartford, Connecticut. In an enthusiastic letter to his family, he described "the most famous man living" : "His handsome face shows kindness and honesty, reflecting his high moral qualities. He truly looks like a hero. He is taciturn and speaks little, but he is good and courteous. He also has an air of melancholy which becomes him and makes him even more interesting."Tall, distinguished, and handsome, with impeccable manners, Fersen was a highly romantic figure and attracted notice in the French court. He soon won the trust of the young queen, becoming in all likelihood her lover. In any case, a deep and loyal mutual friendship was to unite them until the end, and Fersen was one of the few to remain faithful to the Royal family once the Revolutionary winds began to blow. He was instrumental in organizing the ill-fated flight to Varennes in 1791, an attempt ttake the Royal family to safety abroad, which ended with the king and queen being recognized and brought forcibly back to Paris by the Revolutionaries. Afterwards, Fersen continued to strive valiantly and desperately to rally support for the former queen and to save her life, and was grief-stricken upon learning of her beheading.He never married, remaining in his fashion faithful to the queen's memory. In his journal, he kept a note she had sent to him when in captivity : "Adieu, mon cúur est tout ? vous" ("Farewell - my heart is thine alone").Axel von Fersen's life ended in 1810, when was stoned to death in Stockholm by an angry crowd. His political enemies had manipulated public opinion, accusing him of being responsible for the sudden death of the heir to the Swedish throne - an allegation which was proven to be completely untrue immediately afterward.In an ironic twist of fate, the faithful friend of Queen Marie Antoinette shared her fate some twenty years later, dying, as she had, at the hands of enraged revolutionaries.Gustaf Hans von Fersen (1802-1839)The original owner of this carriage clock, identified only as "Count Fersen" in the Breguet accounts, was in fact Gustaf Hans von Fersen. in Stockholm in 1802, he was the son of Axel von Fersen's younger brother, Fabian Reinhold. Gustaf Hans served as an officer in the Swedish army, having risen to the rank of Major at the time of his retirement. Until his death, he served as aide-de -camp to the King Karl IV Johan, (former French general Bernadotte). Gustaf Hans married into a very old Swedishoble family. He and his wife, Sofia Ulrika Bonde, had only one child, Lovisa Sofia Adelaide, who died at the age of only one day old.Fersen was honored with the American order of Cincinatti, one of the few hereditary orders, and which is still carried on solemn occasions by his descendants.Gustaf Hans von Fersen died in 1839, the last direct male descendant of the Fersen dynasty.