THE ART OF BREGUET
Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, Apr 14, 1991
LOT 104
A Monsieur le Comte de Paris Watch No. 926, sold on 14 November 1863, for the sum of 2200 Francs. Gold half hunting-cased keyless watch.
CHF 10,000 - 12,000
Sold: CHF 14,950
Case: 18 ct., two body polished, demi bassine
form, by Perote, No. P 596, with blue champlevé
enamel Roman numerals around the dial
aperture, the back with monogram "L.P.O.", also
in blue champlevé enamel. Glazed over the dial.
Dial: White enamel, signed: "Breguet, No. 926", with Roman hour and'Arabic minute numerals,
eccentric subsidiary seconds and secret signature
below ' A l l " (small hair line). Blued-steel Breguet
hands.
Movement: Gilt brass, 17"', the ébauche by Piguet Frères, 1.5 jewels, counterpoised straight line
lever escapement, cut bimetallic balance. Bluedsteel
Breguet balance spring. Slow/fast
regulation through the edge of the bezel.
In good condition.
Diam. 47 min.
Notes
Louis-Philippe Albert d'Orléans
LE COMTE DE PARIS
Born in Paris on 24 August 1838 to Ferdinand, Duc d'Orléans and Princess Hélène of Mecklenburg- Schwerin, he was the grandson of King Louis Philippe. Following the death of his father in 1842 and the 1848 revolution, which overthrew a reigning family with few roots in France, he accompanied his mother and brother, the Duc de Chartres, to settle in Eisenach in Germany, where he finished his studies, concentrating on literature and science, and undertook several journies in Europe and the Orient. The outbreak of the Civil War in America prompted the two brothers to set sail for the New World, where, in a gesture probably designed to attract general attention, Louis-Philippe Albert volunteered to serve under the Confederate Hag. Given the rank of Captain to the Chief of Staff in 1861, he was appointed aide-de-camp to MacClellan, then leading the army of the Potomac. He participated in a fruitless campaign against Richmond, was present at the siege of Yorktown and the battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks and Gaine's Mill, before joining the general retreat to the James River. His decision to abandon the ranks of the Army and return to Europe in 1862 prompted mixed feelings in the minds of those close to him. Back in Europe, he devoted himself to writing, publishing a variety of articles in the Revue des Deux- Mondes. In 1864, he travelled to Spain to visit his uncle, the Duc de Montpensier, and married his daughter, Princess Marie-Isabelle, by whom he had one son, Prince Louis-Philippe-Robert (1869) and two daughters (1865 and 1871). In early 1870, he and other members of the family made their first appeal against the 1848 legislation which had driven the Bourbons into exile, but without success. The disastrous war against Prussia which broke out shortly thereafter, saw the Comte de Paris living in Twickenham, England, whilst his uncle, the Prince de Joinville, and his brother, the Duc de Chartres, returned to France to serve in the army of the Loire. The 1871 National Assembly finally abrogated the 1848 legislation, prompting the Comte de Paris to return to France, where he continued to lead a relatively discreet existence, going to the theatre, the reviews and being seen in the large receptions hosted by Monsieur Thiers, the President of the French Republic. In the background, the monarchist factions were once more agitating for the restauration of the monarchy in France and the Comte de Paris was on numerous occasions vainly solicited to approach the Comte de Chambord with a view to recognizing him as the head of the royal family and propelling him back to the throne, whereby the Comte de Paris would have become his heir presumptive. This refusal was less a reflection of any profound republican beliefs than of his conviction that only a publicly recognized, hereditary and constitutional monarchy in the style of the British royal family, not one sustained by notions of divine right, could be reinstalled in France. His father, the Duc d'Orléans, had written in his will : "Whether the Comte de Paris becomes King or whether he remains the unknown and obscure defender of a cause to which we all adhere, he must above all be a man of his time and of his nation, a passionate and dedicated servant of France and of the Revolution". Paying apparently little heed to these views, the Comte de Paris chose to visit the Comte de Chambord in August 1873 in Germany, at the very moment when the monarchist party, having overthrown Monsieur Thiers, appeared master of the situation, and pledged his support to him as the sole head of the family and representative of the French monarchy. In a single act of apparent political suicide, he had re-affirmed Te claims of a monarchy based on divine right and thereby struck a fatal blow to the fortunes of the very party which considered him its leader, simultaneously denying his own raison d'être. The resulting massive arousal of hostile public opinion was to render once and for all impossible the return of the monarchy to France. The rest of his life, the Comte de Paris played a modest public role, inheriting the Château d'Eu and all its dependencies. He died in England on 8 September 1894.
Born in Paris on 24 August 1838 to Ferdinand, Duc d'Orléans and Princess Hélène of Mecklenburg- Schwerin, he was the grandson of King Louis Philippe. Following the death of his father in 1842 and the 1848 revolution, which overthrew a reigning family with few roots in France, he accompanied his mother and brother, the Duc de Chartres, to settle in Eisenach in Germany, where he finished his studies, concentrating on literature and science, and undertook several journies in Europe and the Orient. The outbreak of the Civil War in America prompted the two brothers to set sail for the New World, where, in a gesture probably designed to attract general attention, Louis-Philippe Albert volunteered to serve under the Confederate Hag. Given the rank of Captain to the Chief of Staff in 1861, he was appointed aide-de-camp to MacClellan, then leading the army of the Potomac. He participated in a fruitless campaign against Richmond, was present at the siege of Yorktown and the battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks and Gaine's Mill, before joining the general retreat to the James River. His decision to abandon the ranks of the Army and return to Europe in 1862 prompted mixed feelings in the minds of those close to him. Back in Europe, he devoted himself to writing, publishing a variety of articles in the Revue des Deux- Mondes. In 1864, he travelled to Spain to visit his uncle, the Duc de Montpensier, and married his daughter, Princess Marie-Isabelle, by whom he had one son, Prince Louis-Philippe-Robert (1869) and two daughters (1865 and 1871). In early 1870, he and other members of the family made their first appeal against the 1848 legislation which had driven the Bourbons into exile, but without success. The disastrous war against Prussia which broke out shortly thereafter, saw the Comte de Paris living in Twickenham, England, whilst his uncle, the Prince de Joinville, and his brother, the Duc de Chartres, returned to France to serve in the army of the Loire. The 1871 National Assembly finally abrogated the 1848 legislation, prompting the Comte de Paris to return to France, where he continued to lead a relatively discreet existence, going to the theatre, the reviews and being seen in the large receptions hosted by Monsieur Thiers, the President of the French Republic. In the background, the monarchist factions were once more agitating for the restauration of the monarchy in France and the Comte de Paris was on numerous occasions vainly solicited to approach the Comte de Chambord with a view to recognizing him as the head of the royal family and propelling him back to the throne, whereby the Comte de Paris would have become his heir presumptive. This refusal was less a reflection of any profound republican beliefs than of his conviction that only a publicly recognized, hereditary and constitutional monarchy in the style of the British royal family, not one sustained by notions of divine right, could be reinstalled in France. His father, the Duc d'Orléans, had written in his will : "Whether the Comte de Paris becomes King or whether he remains the unknown and obscure defender of a cause to which we all adhere, he must above all be a man of his time and of his nation, a passionate and dedicated servant of France and of the Revolution". Paying apparently little heed to these views, the Comte de Paris chose to visit the Comte de Chambord in August 1873 in Germany, at the very moment when the monarchist party, having overthrown Monsieur Thiers, appeared master of the situation, and pledged his support to him as the sole head of the family and representative of the French monarchy. In a single act of apparent political suicide, he had re-affirmed Te claims of a monarchy based on divine right and thereby struck a fatal blow to the fortunes of the very party which considered him its leader, simultaneously denying his own raison d'être. The resulting massive arousal of hostile public opinion was to render once and for all impossible the return of the monarchy to France. The rest of his life, the Comte de Paris played a modest public role, inheriting the Château d'Eu and all its dependencies. He died in England on 8 September 1894.