Provenance: Time Museum, inv. No. A365In 1923, the present watch was chosen by the House of Breguet to represent their achievements in the very prestigious exhibition "Centenaire de A.L. Breguet", held in Paris' Musée Galliera. It was described and illustrated in the catalogue under the No. 83.The watch is exceptionally well made, with a special Robin chronometer escapement improved by Breguet, in which the lever, resembling a pallet fork, has two pallets but just for locking. The locking and unlocking are done the same way as in the lever escapement, while the impulse is given as in a chronometer - uni-directional, directly to the impulse roller mounted on the balance staff. The impulse jewel on the balance staff is shaped, concave on the outside. The unlocking jewel is in fact a jewled roller mounted loosely on a post, to decrease the friction. The striking train employs another roller, the lift lever acts on a small roller mounted on the hour rack. The watch has 40 jewels, which is very unusual for this period. The archives state "jexels everywhere".It is conceivable that the extra care given to the watch was due to the fact that it is the last Breguet sonnerie watch from the so called "Main Series", started by Breguet himself in 1794 and ended by his son in 1833.The watch, which was entered into the register on October 31, 1823, only a month and a half after Breguet's death, must have been conceived during his lifetime. In fact four of this type of movement were entered on the same date but only one, this one, was finished. Two were discarded and the fourth one was put into a clock case ten years later.The movement is quite different from earlier Breguet sonnerie watches. It is clearly divided for going and striking train, the going one with a new type of bridge caliber, the striking mechanism simplified but finished with remarkable care. It appears that at the end of his life Breguet devised a new type of striking movement, and had four ebauches made before his death. His son had one example realized of his father's last creation.The name Bréauté is mentioned three times in the Breguet register; the first time in 1819 when Monsieur Bréauté bought a regulator from Breguet, the second time, concerning this watch, and a year later when a simple large watch was bought.The owner took special care of the present watch. It was regularly given to Breguet for cleaning: the records list 15 instances on which the watch was returned for overhaul, a new crystal, and once for hairspring improvements.At the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century we find the watch in England with Breguet's agent Desoutter who, it appears, sold it to Lord Salomon. It eventually found its way to the famous Time Museum Collection in Rockford, Illinois.Over the years, there has been very strong interest in the watch, as proved by the number of certificates issued: No. 2428 of July 9, 1825, No. 981 (of 1899 for M. Gardner, chronometer maker in London), No. 3257, and No. 3345 of April 3, 1973.