The watch combines a number of unusual features, among them the lateral lever escapement - Breguet usually favored a straight line escapement - and the advanced repetition system. The repetition system in this early 19th century watch, could be a prototype of the modern minute-repeating system, with the exception of the movable star. It employs a very long all-or-nothing lever (prevailing from striking when the piston is not pushed to the very end, and thus assuring that the repeating always coresponds to the correct hour). The long lever allows for just a slight movement of the star. The independent striking train is elegantly set on the back plate, allowing the owner the pleasure of observing the striking mechanism in action. The necessity of an independent train was due to the fact that the system based on a single train both for striking and repeating, disengaging one when the other was in operation, had not yet been invented. This was almost a half century before Henri Golay inveted a mechanism allowing these two functions to be set in a single train in 1859. However, just before his death Breguet was working on a new striking mechanism (see Antiquorum November 16, 2002, lot No. 47). If he had had enough time, he would no doubt have improved it to the point at which it would also englobe the repeater mechanism, in the same manner as he had improved the minute-repeating system, as exemplified by this watch.Count Yuri Alexandrovitch Golovkin(1762-1846)Was a statesman and scientist.In 1805 he led an embassy to China;he was made honorary member ofthe Académie des Sciences in 1834.