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Lot Essay
According to the Archives of Montres Breguet, the present quarter repeating watch with 14''' movement was sold on 21 December 1875 to the Princesse de Broglie for the amount of 1,800 Francs.
Orphan at the age of 14 in 1871, Marie-Charlotte Constance Say (1857 - 1943) inherits a vast fortune built by her grandfather, the sugar industrialist Louis Say. At the age of 17, she becomes infatuated with the castle of Chaumont-sur-Loire which she acquires, on 17 March 1875, for the amount of 1,706,500 gold francs paid "on her maiden economies".
A few months later, on 8 June, she marries, still a minor, Prince Amédée de Broglie, youngest son of Jacques Victor Albert de Broglie, Duke de Broglie and his wife Pauline de Galard de Brassac de Béarn. In addition to Chaumont, Marie's dowry includes a mansion located at No. 10 Rue de Solferino, in Paris, and twelve million gold francs.
Flamboyant character during the Belle Epoque and the Roaring Twenties, the Princesse de Broglie is acquainted with the most celebrated intellectuals and artists of the time, notably Marcel Proust, Léon Daudet, Jean Cocteau and the pianist Francis Poulenc. She organizes numerous parties during which she receives "Tout Paris": Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac, Boni de Castellane, Edmond de Polignac, Winnaretta Singer and Elisabeth de Gramont, all close to the Princesse and her husband.
The present quarter repeating watch was bought in the year of her marriage, featuring her princely initials.
Orphan at the age of 14 in 1871, Marie-Charlotte Constance Say (1857 - 1943) inherits a vast fortune built by her grandfather, the sugar industrialist Louis Say. At the age of 17, she becomes infatuated with the castle of Chaumont-sur-Loire which she acquires, on 17 March 1875, for the amount of 1,706,500 gold francs paid "on her maiden economies".
A few months later, on 8 June, she marries, still a minor, Prince Amédée de Broglie, youngest son of Jacques Victor Albert de Broglie, Duke de Broglie and his wife Pauline de Galard de Brassac de Béarn. In addition to Chaumont, Marie's dowry includes a mansion located at No. 10 Rue de Solferino, in Paris, and twelve million gold francs.
Flamboyant character during the Belle Epoque and the Roaring Twenties, the Princesse de Broglie is acquainted with the most celebrated intellectuals and artists of the time, notably Marcel Proust, Léon Daudet, Jean Cocteau and the pianist Francis Poulenc. She organizes numerous parties during which she receives "Tout Paris": Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac, Boni de Castellane, Edmond de Polignac, Winnaretta Singer and Elisabeth de Gramont, all close to the Princesse and her husband.
The present quarter repeating watch was bought in the year of her marriage, featuring her princely initials.