Both the decoration and technical features of this watch are typical of the finest pieces made by Breguet for the Islamic Market and are in keeping with the suggestions made to Breguet by his friend Effendi, then an influential member of the Turkish Govern-ment, concerning the Turkish taste. This example is espe-cially well finished; particularly noteworthy is the use of 22K gold for the case. This was reserved by Breguet for his best pieces for the Turkish market. In the present watch, the enamel artist very skillfully used engine-turning, translucent enamel and a complex paillon pattern to achieve a "sunshine" effect. Breguet watches in 22K gold are extremely rare; the use of 22K gold is an indication of a superior quality case. Although Breguet used all three French gold standards, that is, 18, 20 and 22K, the latter is found quite rarely. We know of only two other 22K gold cases, with the serial Nos. 2951, and 3750. They were sold by Antiquorum in October 1997, lot No. 31, and on March 31, 2001, lot 180 respectively. A "cabriolet" case is one in which the inner case can be inserted either way, ma-king the watch a hunting-cased or an open-face watch. Literature: Illustrated and described by George Daniels in "The Art of Breguet", p. 207, fig. 201 a-d. For a biography of Breguet, see page 203. Literature: "Breguet - Watchmaker since 1775", by Emmanuel Breguet, Gourcuff Edition, Paris, 1997 Esseyd Ali Effendi (d. 1809) Born in Morea, he began his career in Istanbul in the Chancellery of the Sublime Porte. In response to the arrival of Marshal Sebastiani as French Ambassador in Istanbul, the Sultan of Turkey sent Ali Effendi to Paris in a similar capacity in 1796. After a stay of three years, he returned to Turkey and was put in charge of the Naval Shipyards, eventually becoming Minis-ter of the Navy, and making a substantial contribution towards the reform of the armed forces. Ali Effendi held several positions of importance during the reigns of both Selim IV and Mustafa IV, particularly during the nego-tiations of the Treaty with Napoleon. However, his arrogant nature eventually led to his being or-dered away from Istanbul, and he was assas-sinated in 1809. While in Paris, he became a friend of Talleyrand who introduced him to Breguet. Together with his interpreter Malotaky, he soon became one of the horologist?s best clients from 1798 on, buying a "minute grande sonnerie" clockwatch in 1799 and a long-case regulator in 1801. Back in Turkey in 1802, he wrote seve-ral letters to Breguet and ordered 10 repeating watches between 1804 and 1808, several less expensive watches and pocket thermometers. He was the first, along with his friend Stephanaki, an impor-tant watch dealer in Istanbul, to show Breguet the potential of the Islamic market as a market for special watches: the latter had to be gold and enamel, pair-cased, and fitted with white enamel Turkish dials. As Minister of the Turkish Marine, in 1804 he ordered a repeating watch "as good as possible" for the Emperor Selim I.