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Lot Essay
According to the Archives of Montres Breguet, the present "montre à répétition des 1/2 quarts turque, boite or no. 308", half quarter repeating watch for the Turkish market, gold case no. 308, was shipped to Leroy, Breguet's agent in Constantinople, on 24 April 1813.
It is a fine example of one of Breguet's timepieces made for the Ottoman market, distinguished by the unusual use of a duplex escapement and the lack of any decoration often found on such watches.
The relationship between Breguet and the Ottoman Empire began in the early 19th century, at the time when trade relations between Breguet and his main markets, notably England, Spain and Russia, were suspended by the Napoleonic wars. The success of his watches in Turkey was largely due to Esseid Ali Effendi, nicknamed "The Sublime Portal", who had been sent to Paris as the Ottoman Ambassador in response to the arrival of Marshal Sebastiani as French Ambassador in Constantinople. In Paris Ali became acquainted with the famous diplomat Talleyrand, friend and faithful client of Breguet, who introduced the two men. The friendship between Esseid Ali and Abraham-Louis Breguet contributed to the latter's early awareness of the importance of the Ottoman market, especially since Turkey was the only major power still allied with Napoleonic France.
In 1798, Esseid Ali bought his first watch from Breguet, followed by a continuous stream of orders after his return to Turkey four years later, ranging from highly complicated watches to simple models as well as thermometers and barometers. In his letters, Ali described in detail the aesthetic features required to appeal to clients in his country, including lavishly decorated and enamelled inner and outer cases in vivid colours, such as scarlet or "Turkish" red, and as of 1803 white enamel dials with Turkish rather than Arabic or Roman numerals, radically different from the neo-classical style which Breguet had so successfully introduced into the watch industry,
In 1804 Esseid Ali had become the Minister of the Navy and commissioned the finest possible repeating watch for the Ottoman Emperor Selim III. Highly pleased by the watch, the Emperor requested a second watch identical to the first. With his growing popularity in the Ottoman Empire, Breguet decided to send Leroy (or Le Roy), a skilled and trustworthy watchmaker, as his representative to Turkey. Leroy settled in Constantinople and as of 1811 he received a yearly average of six to eight extremely valuable pieces.
In 1813, Napoleon chose a "Sympathique" clock covered in precious stones, worth 35,000 Francs, one of the most expensive object ever made by A.-L. Breguet (see Breguet - Watchmakers since 1775 by Emmanuel Breguet, p. 234), as a gift to mark the instatement of Sultan Mahmud II. The Sultan was so delighted that he assigned Breguet's representative Leroy with the maintenance of all the timepieces in his palace.
Today, Istanbul's Topkapi Palace Museum owns several of Breguet's finest creations specially made for Turkey, including the magnificent "Sympathique" clock. These masterpieces impressively emphasize the successful symbioses of avant-garde watch technology introduced by Breguet and the evocative, splendidly decorative style elements of the Ottoman Empire.
We are indebted to Mr. Emmanuel Breguet for his valuable assistance in researching the present timepiece.
It is a fine example of one of Breguet's timepieces made for the Ottoman market, distinguished by the unusual use of a duplex escapement and the lack of any decoration often found on such watches.
The relationship between Breguet and the Ottoman Empire began in the early 19th century, at the time when trade relations between Breguet and his main markets, notably England, Spain and Russia, were suspended by the Napoleonic wars. The success of his watches in Turkey was largely due to Esseid Ali Effendi, nicknamed "The Sublime Portal", who had been sent to Paris as the Ottoman Ambassador in response to the arrival of Marshal Sebastiani as French Ambassador in Constantinople. In Paris Ali became acquainted with the famous diplomat Talleyrand, friend and faithful client of Breguet, who introduced the two men. The friendship between Esseid Ali and Abraham-Louis Breguet contributed to the latter's early awareness of the importance of the Ottoman market, especially since Turkey was the only major power still allied with Napoleonic France.
In 1798, Esseid Ali bought his first watch from Breguet, followed by a continuous stream of orders after his return to Turkey four years later, ranging from highly complicated watches to simple models as well as thermometers and barometers. In his letters, Ali described in detail the aesthetic features required to appeal to clients in his country, including lavishly decorated and enamelled inner and outer cases in vivid colours, such as scarlet or "Turkish" red, and as of 1803 white enamel dials with Turkish rather than Arabic or Roman numerals, radically different from the neo-classical style which Breguet had so successfully introduced into the watch industry,
In 1804 Esseid Ali had become the Minister of the Navy and commissioned the finest possible repeating watch for the Ottoman Emperor Selim III. Highly pleased by the watch, the Emperor requested a second watch identical to the first. With his growing popularity in the Ottoman Empire, Breguet decided to send Leroy (or Le Roy), a skilled and trustworthy watchmaker, as his representative to Turkey. Leroy settled in Constantinople and as of 1811 he received a yearly average of six to eight extremely valuable pieces.
In 1813, Napoleon chose a "Sympathique" clock covered in precious stones, worth 35,000 Francs, one of the most expensive object ever made by A.-L. Breguet (see Breguet - Watchmakers since 1775 by Emmanuel Breguet, p. 234), as a gift to mark the instatement of Sultan Mahmud II. The Sultan was so delighted that he assigned Breguet's representative Leroy with the maintenance of all the timepieces in his palace.
Today, Istanbul's Topkapi Palace Museum owns several of Breguet's finest creations specially made for Turkey, including the magnificent "Sympathique" clock. These masterpieces impressively emphasize the successful symbioses of avant-garde watch technology introduced by Breguet and the evocative, splendidly decorative style elements of the Ottoman Empire.
We are indebted to Mr. Emmanuel Breguet for his valuable assistance in researching the present timepiece.