Provenance: Formerly in the Ferguson Collection and subsequently the property of Cecil Clutton, the eminent English collector and author. Sold by Malcolm Gardner in July 1959 to the late Lord Harris of Belmont Park.
Literature: Illustrated and described in Antiquarian Horology , Vol. 2, no. 6, March 1958. Note: Watches by Breguet fitted with an alarm train are extremely rare, and in this case, with the addition of quarter-repeating and the use of the Robin escapement, it would appear to be unique. According to the fabrication and sales books, the ébauche, in working condition, was purchased from Lallemand for 1130 Francs on 19 April 1817. It then remained in Breguet's workshops until 1819, being converted and finished to his standards, the cost price rising to 1939 Francs. For an unexplained reason, it remained in the stock of Maison Breguet for more than 15 years, to be eventually sold for 400 Francs on 7 January 1836. Formerly a pupil of Robin, Lallemand later worked for Louis Berthoud, and after the death of the latter, joined the workshops of Breguet, where he was certainly one of his best workmen. No other example of this type of watch is currently known to exist.