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Lot Essay
With Thomas Engel original Certificate No. X dated 8 June 2000, mahogany presentation box containing a spare spring and spare gold Breguet hands.
Consigned by its first owner, the present watch is in like new condition.
Professor Thomas Engel (b. 1927 in Germany, d. 2015 in Switzerland), inventor, author and watch aficionado, collector and maker, was an international coryphée in the field of researching polymers. He held around 120 patents in organic chemistry and was awarded numerous honours and prices in this field, including the 1972 "Diesel Prize" which he jointly won with Dr. Wernher von Braun, one of the most important rocket developers and specialist of space exploration.
Professor Engel was not only a famous watch collector but also a passionate "self-made" maker of technically outstanding timepieces. From the moment he first held a pocket watch in his hands, incidentally a Breguet, he knew he had found a passion that would take his life in another direction. Within the horological community, he is acknowledged for his understanding of the life and works of Abraham Louis Breguet, on whom he also published a biography. His interest spanned beyond the average collector, applying his knowledge and skills to watchmaking, producing watches made in the style and technique of Breguet. Of outstanding quality and finesse, these so-called "Engel Breguets" have become highly sought-after collector's pieces.
The tourbillon regulator of the present watch was designed by Richard Daners, Master watchmaker, craftsman and creator of complicated timepieces. In 1997 he was awarded the Gaia Prize, initiated in 1993 by the curator and directors of the Musée International d'Horlogerie (MIH) in La Chaux-de-Fonds. This international prize is dedicated to Maurice Ditisheim, an early patron of the museum. It is granted to those who have advanced horology and promoted the arts, history and culture of timekeeping through their work.
The present watch is a superb example of a complicated "Engel Breguet", designed after one of Abraham Louis Breguet's tourbillon watches with thermometer and power reserve.
For the description and illustration of Thomas Engel's Tourbillon No. VI see Das Tourbillon by Reinhard, Meis, p. 278.
Consigned by its first owner, the present watch is in like new condition.
Professor Thomas Engel (b. 1927 in Germany, d. 2015 in Switzerland), inventor, author and watch aficionado, collector and maker, was an international coryphée in the field of researching polymers. He held around 120 patents in organic chemistry and was awarded numerous honours and prices in this field, including the 1972 "Diesel Prize" which he jointly won with Dr. Wernher von Braun, one of the most important rocket developers and specialist of space exploration.
Professor Engel was not only a famous watch collector but also a passionate "self-made" maker of technically outstanding timepieces. From the moment he first held a pocket watch in his hands, incidentally a Breguet, he knew he had found a passion that would take his life in another direction. Within the horological community, he is acknowledged for his understanding of the life and works of Abraham Louis Breguet, on whom he also published a biography. His interest spanned beyond the average collector, applying his knowledge and skills to watchmaking, producing watches made in the style and technique of Breguet. Of outstanding quality and finesse, these so-called "Engel Breguets" have become highly sought-after collector's pieces.
The tourbillon regulator of the present watch was designed by Richard Daners, Master watchmaker, craftsman and creator of complicated timepieces. In 1997 he was awarded the Gaia Prize, initiated in 1993 by the curator and directors of the Musée International d'Horlogerie (MIH) in La Chaux-de-Fonds. This international prize is dedicated to Maurice Ditisheim, an early patron of the museum. It is granted to those who have advanced horology and promoted the arts, history and culture of timekeeping through their work.
The present watch is a superb example of a complicated "Engel Breguet", designed after one of Abraham Louis Breguet's tourbillon watches with thermometer and power reserve.
For the description and illustration of Thomas Engel's Tourbillon No. VI see Das Tourbillon by Reinhard, Meis, p. 278.