Property of a European Gentleman Provenance: Empress Marie Louise Count Louis de Crenneville Breguet, Paris Sir David Salomons This watch is exceptional both from the esthetic and technical points of view. The dial design is immortal in its elegance ? 180 years later the same design is still in use for wristwatches, for example, the ever-popular reference 3330. It is a forerunner of slim watches, a trend that became popular twenty years later. It is easy to imagine former clients of Breguet, who appreciated his talent and his sense of esthetics, asking the new generation of watchmakers for slim watches similar to this one. It is tempting to speculate that the trend of the 1840s had its beginnings in this type of watch by Breguet. The movement is a testimony to Breguet?s horological genius, certain of its features only being applied commercially one hundred years after the watch was made. The balance jewels, which are of sapphire, are of a single piece. They are pierced only half-way through, so as to form both the pierced jewel and the cap jewel in one. Furthermore, they are friction-fit. Today, this is common practice in almost all wristwatches, but at the time, when jeweling was far from a common practice, this was unheard-of. The safety feature on the balance, which assures that it will not become stuck behind the wrong side of the fork during a jerky movement, is achieved in an unconventional manner, by a roller that looks like his famous ruby cylinder and is mounted in the same way. The pallet fork is equally impressive, well calibrated (not to be confused with counterpoised) for equalizing the momentum of the entry and exit pallets, which are made of sapphires and excellently polished. The balance spring s mounted in a slot secured by a screw to assure that that it can be easily adjusted concentrically to the balance staff. The escape wheel, of only 11 teeth, has an oil-retention hole on each tooth - a miniscule V-shaped hole terminating at the locking face of the tooth, assuring a continuous supply of oil to the pallets. The Empress must have appreciated the watch; only three months later she bought another "Médallion d?or", for the same price. In all, Empress Marie-Louise bought six watches from Breguet: four repeaters and the two above-mentioned watches. It is said that the Empress wore this watch continually until her death, at which time it was bequeathed to her godson, Count Louis de Crenneville. In 1923, the 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. 161. In 1997, it was displayed in the exhibition "Two Centuries of Prestigious Timepieces, Watches from 1780 to 1980", held at the Geneva Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie. It was displayed as No. 1 in the exhibition, and is described and illustrated in the catalogue on pages 2 and 3. Empress Marie-Louise (1791-1847) Born on December 12, 1791 in the Hofburg Palace, Marie-Louise was the daughter of Archduke Francis of Habsburg-Lorraine, the son of Emperor Leopold II, and his wife, the daughter of King Ferdinand IV of Naples. She was thus the great-granddaughter of Empress Maria-Theresa, and great-niece of French queen Marie-Antoinette. Her father having ascended to the throne in 1792, Marie-Louise grew up in an atmosphere of constant war with France. Having learned to hate and fear the French, Marie-Louise had a particular aversion for their leader, Napoleon, who in her eyes was arrogant and brash. When Napoleon decided to divorce Josephine in the hopes of finding a new, young wife capable of bearing him an heir, he narrowed the choice to two candidates: the sister of the Russian Tsar, Grand Duchess Anne of Russia, and Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, the daughter of Bonaparte?s old enemy, Austrian Emperor Francis I. When the Tsar, not very eager to become a relative of the French Emperor, hesitated, Napoleon turned to Austria. He had been assured by Chancellor Metternich that the Emperor would not refuse him the hand of his daughter. It was hoped that this marriage would ally France with one of the oldest ruling families in Europe, further legitimize Napoleon?s leadership, and encourage peace between the two countries. Marie Louise, however, was terrified. She considered the French Emperor an enemy of her country and a « monster » and wrote in her diary "[Just] to see the man would be the worst form of torture." She would, however, revise her judgment. A civil proxy-marriage took place on March 11, 1810, and Marie Louise began her journey to France. Napoleon met her at Compieigne, and immediately rushed her into bed ? even before the religious ceremony. Despite their inauspicious engagement and rushed marriage, the couple seemed happy. After their wedding she wrote to her father: "He loves me very much. I respond to his love sincerely. There is something very fetching and very eager about him that is impossible to resist." Metternich, for his part, noted that the Emperor was « much taken with his wife ». Indeed, he said, "He is so evidently in love with her that all his habits are subordinated to her wishes." In the autumn of 1810, the Empress shows signs of being pregnant, and in March 1811 she gave birth to the long-awaited heir, to whom Napoleon gave the title "King of Rome." Two years later Napoleon arranged for Josephine to meet the young prince "who had cost her so many tears." In 1813, after the military disaster in Russia, Napoleon left for Germany, in an attempt to fight off the coalition of nations united against him. Before going he appointed a Regency Council, in order to assure the accession to the throne of the Roi de Rome, should anything happen to him. It was comprised of Joseph Bonaparte, Talleyrand, Cambacérès, and Marie-Louise, about whom he said she is « wiser than any of my ministers ». In 1814 the Allies invaded France, and Napoleon left for war on January 25. Defeated in the spring, he abdicated his throne and was forced into exile on the island of Elba. He would never see his wife or son again. The present watch, which was purchased by Marie-Louise in September 1813, dates from the period of her Regency, when she was responsible for affairs of state while her husband was at war.