Louis Berthoud No. 52, Montre Marine à suspension, boîte d'argent, sold to the Marine Department in Floréal an IX ( May 1801). Extremely rare and important silver historical marine chronometer, presented by the Premier Consul (Napoléon Bonaparte) to the Duc of Decres, on 11 Ventôse an 9 (2 March 1802) and by Decres to the Capitaine de Frégate Ponée in Marsh 1812, subsequently it was lent for a year to Jerôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia. to be continuel | L\'ART DE L\'HORLOGERIE EN FRANCE DE XVIe AU XXe SIÈCLE | Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, 14th November 1993

L\'ART DE L\'HORLOGERIE EN FRANCE DE ...

Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, Nov 14, 1993

LOT 98

Louis Berthoud No. 52, Montre Marine à suspension, boîte d'argent, sold to the Marine Department in Floréal an IX ( May 1801). Extremely rare and important silver historical marine chronometer, presented by the Premier Consul (Napoléon Bonaparte) to the Duc of Decres, on 11 Ventôse an 9 (2 March 1802) and by Decres to the Capitaine de Frégate Ponée in Marsh 1812, subsequently it was lent for a year to Jerôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia. to be continuel

CHF 120,000 - 150,000

Sold: CHF 165,750

C. Three piece, "en forme de tabatière", engineturned, by Joly (Master mark), with a dedication engraved on the inner dome : "Donné par le Premier Consul au Contre Amiral Decrès, en récompense du combat glorieux qu'il a soutenu avec le vaisseau Le Guillaume Tell, contre des forces anglaises supérieures (Arreté du 11 Ventôse an 9), the back cover engraved with another dedication : Donnée par le Duc Decrès, Ministre de la Marine, au Capitaine de Frégate Poilée, en souvenir de sa belle conduite à bord de la Frégate La Néréide, pendant la Campagne de 1811. Mars 1812. Double body mahogany box with glazed circular observation aperture on the lid. Brass gimballed suspension with leadweighted bowl lined with green velvet. D. White enamel regulator type with a small eccentric Roman chapter for hours, subsidiary seconds below, outer Arabic minute ring on the border of the bezel. Blued-steel Breguet hands. M. Frosted and gilt full plate, with conical pillars secured by blued-steel nuts with polished steel washers, fusee and chain with maintaining power, counterpoised straight line lever escapement with rollers on the balance staff. three-armed compensation balance with three weights,and three additional weights and platinum timing screws. Free-sprung blued-steel conical spring with adjustable collar. Signed on the back plate and the dial rim : "Par Ls. Berthoud No. 52" and on the dial : "Ls.Berthoud No. 52". In very good condition with original ratchet key. Diam. 65 mm. Dim. 123 x 123 x 74 mm.

LOADING IMAGES

Image

Notes

Curiously, watch No. 52, fitted with this escapement satisfied him so well rght from the moment of its being rated that he could record in his workshop notebook 1 December 1800 'I believe it will turn out to be the best of my watches'. Three years after the watch had been sold to the Marine, this favourable impression vvas confirmed. On 24 April 1803 he wrote: 'This watch with a lever escapement, was sold in Floréal of the year IX in order to be given by the First Consul to Vice-Admirai Décrès. I considered it as one of my best watches, and since the month of Brumaire year X (November 1804) when it was returned to me for examination, I have often been astonished by its regularity! Berthoud vas ordered by Décrès, now IVlinister of the Marine, to hand over the watch to Prince Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia. It was delivered to him on 18 November 1805 and returned to Berthoud for restoration 21 September 1806. Repaired, together with other watches belonging to Bonaparte, it was returned to Décrès in November 1807. This vwatch is apparently the only one still in existence with its original lever escapement. See J. C. Sabrier, The Longitude at Sea in the Time of Louis Berthoud and Henri Motel. Antiquorum Editions 1993, pages 185,187 to 189, 195, 241 and 277. Right at the beginnning of his career Louis Berthoud used for his marine watches, a form of lever escapement derived from those that he had studied in one of the first lever watches by Emery, imported from England in 1782. Not yet being able to make them with jewelled pallets he was quickly obliged to abandon them and adopted the pivoted detent which he fitted for the first time in watch No 9 - 2280 for M. Puységur. The possibility of obtaining jewels for the pallets of his escapements allowed him around 1800 to go back to the idea of the lever escapement. However ' draw' not having yet been imagined at this period, he ran into numerous difficulties as soon as he tried to regulate his watches in the different positions, and vas forced to fit pivoted detents to all of them despite the considerables costs entailed by this change. Louis - Marie - Joseph, Comte de Caffarelli 1760-1845 Maritime Prefect, born at the Château of Falga (Haute Garonne). Serving first in the army he soon transferred to the navy where he was placed in the Compagnie des Gardes de Brest in December 1778. During the War of American Independence he Sa \,V action at Tobago, Chesapeake, St. Christophe and Sainte in 1781 and 1782. Lieutenant in 1786, he resigned from the navy for health reasons. Nominated " Conseiller d'Etat" in 1799, the following year he became first Préfet Maritime de Brest where he completely reorganised the arsenal and its services. Count of the Empire in July 1810, he organised the Ecoles Navales Embarquées, created in 1811 at Brest and Toulon on the Duquresne and the Tourville. He re-established naval conscription and directed the service of supply to the fleet. Commissioner extraordinary at Toulouse in 1814, peer of reaim during the Hundred days, he was rendered destitute by the Restoration and was obliged to leave public life. He was reinstated as a peer in 1830 and died at Lavelanet (Ariège) fifteen years later.