THE ART OF BREGUET
Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, Apr 14, 1991
LOT 21
A Monsieur ... Watch No. 1436, sold on 10 Vendémiaire an 13 ( 2 October 1804), for the sum of 840 Francs. Gold "souscription" watch.
CHF 40,000 - 45,000
Sold: CHF 34,500
Case: 18 ct., three body, collier form, by Joly, No.915, engine-turned à g r a i n s d'orge.
Dial: White enamel, signed: "Breguet et Fils",
with Breguet numerals and secret signature
below "12" (small hair lines). Blued-steel
souscription hand with tapered point.
Movement: Gilt brass, 22"', souscription caliber
with central barrel, overhanging ruby cylinder,
three-arm plain brass balance with parachute on
the top pivot. Blued-steel flat spring with
bimetallic compensation curb on the regulator.
In very good condition.
Diam. 62 mm.
Notes
History: When originally sold in 1804, the
register was simply marked Vendue à Mr............... It
was however returned for overhaul by a Mme de
Neuchaise on 9 June 1837, bought back from her
on 16 inst. of the same month and then
completely restored for the new buyer, a certain
Mr. P. Niaudet.
Note: In the Notice, published in approximately 1796, to launch the souscription, Breguet pointed out that although watches destined for marine or astronomical use, had reached a high degree of perfection, those destined for civil use were of mediocre quality. Furthermore, as the best quality watches were too highly priced for the average buyer, he concluded that the market would readily accept a good quality product sold for a reasonable sum. Such a watch should be distinguished by its simplicity, be properly protected against shock damage, and designed in such a way that the wheel-train, escapement and the regulator (balance, balance spring and temperature compensation) were all accessible and capable of being overhauled or repaired by any competent watchmaker. The result was a watch of an entirely novel conception, both simple and functional, and certainly the first true Usually in silver, with the gold rims being the only decoration, the souscription watches were of a large diameter allowing the enamel dial to be divided in such a way that both hours and minutes could be read from a single hand. The movements had a single plate, the spring barrel mounted in the centre and the wheels elegantly positioned and retained by bridges. The single hand was driven directly off the barrel arbor, eliminating the motion work and the intendant friction, and the ruby cylinder escapement was fitted with a parachute (shock protector) and a compensation curb to assist in correcting temperature errors; features that were the norm for all Breguet's first class watches. To further reduce the selling price, Breguet decided to produce these watches in small series ( between 12 and 20 examples at a time), with the buyers paying an account of 25 % in advance and the balance on completion. Hence the term: de souscription (by subscription). The success of these watches enabled Breguet to both reestablish his business, which had understandably been badly affected by the Revolution and his exile in Switzerland, and to finance much of his research into other areas of horology. According to the firm's records, the first souscription was delivered in 1796 with the No. 96. They are entered in the registers as: Montre de souscription, or alternatively: Montre simple à une seule aiguille. Prices ranged from 600 francs in silver, 800 francs in gold to a somewhat higher figure if an à tact hand was fitted; a practical addition as the movement was designed for a single hand in the first place.
Note: In the Notice, published in approximately 1796, to launch the souscription, Breguet pointed out that although watches destined for marine or astronomical use, had reached a high degree of perfection, those destined for civil use were of mediocre quality. Furthermore, as the best quality watches were too highly priced for the average buyer, he concluded that the market would readily accept a good quality product sold for a reasonable sum. Such a watch should be distinguished by its simplicity, be properly protected against shock damage, and designed in such a way that the wheel-train, escapement and the regulator (balance, balance spring and temperature compensation) were all accessible and capable of being overhauled or repaired by any competent watchmaker. The result was a watch of an entirely novel conception, both simple and functional, and certainly the first true Usually in silver, with the gold rims being the only decoration, the souscription watches were of a large diameter allowing the enamel dial to be divided in such a way that both hours and minutes could be read from a single hand. The movements had a single plate, the spring barrel mounted in the centre and the wheels elegantly positioned and retained by bridges. The single hand was driven directly off the barrel arbor, eliminating the motion work and the intendant friction, and the ruby cylinder escapement was fitted with a parachute (shock protector) and a compensation curb to assist in correcting temperature errors; features that were the norm for all Breguet's first class watches. To further reduce the selling price, Breguet decided to produce these watches in small series ( between 12 and 20 examples at a time), with the buyers paying an account of 25 % in advance and the balance on completion. Hence the term: de souscription (by subscription). The success of these watches enabled Breguet to both reestablish his business, which had understandably been badly affected by the Revolution and his exile in Switzerland, and to finance much of his research into other areas of horology. According to the firm's records, the first souscription was delivered in 1796 with the No. 96. They are entered in the registers as: Montre de souscription, or alternatively: Montre simple à une seule aiguille. Prices ranged from 600 francs in silver, 800 francs in gold to a somewhat higher figure if an à tact hand was fitted; a practical addition as the movement was designed for a single hand in the first place.