Importantes Montres de Collection

Geneva, May 15, 2011

LOT 497

Breguet Répétition Minutes, made in 6 examples Breguet, ?Répétition Minutes?, No. 1427, movement No. 3305, Ref. 3187. Made in a limited edition of 6 examples in 1997. Very fine and rare, minute-repeating, 18K yellow gold wristwatch with regulator dial and an 18K yellow gold Breguet buckle.

CHF 80,000 - 120,000

USD 88,000 - 130,000 / EUR 60,000 - 90,000

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 cotes decoration, 30 jewels, straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance adjusted to 5 positions, shockabsorber, self-compensating Breguet balance spring, swan neck micrometer regulator, repeating on gongs by activating slide on the band. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 37 mm. Thickness 11 mm.


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 2

Very good
Movement: 2*

Very good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
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.