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拍品专文
With Breguet original Notice No. 1376 dated London, 19 June 1833 and signed Breguet, Neveux & Cie., original fitted red Morocco presentation box No. 5015. According to the Archives of Montres Breguet, the watch was sold on 3 July 1833 to the Marquis d'Abercorn for the sum of 3,870 francs
The Notice describes the watch as a very small "montre simple", without repeating, on the principles of chronometers, with all functions on the outside of the case, engine-turned gold case, white matte silver dial, date indication, olive-shaped pendant with small button through which the movement is wound and the hands are set, advance/retard functions in the band of the watch, small pin in the band, not far from the pendant, for date setting, lever movement set with rubies, elastic double suspension on the regulator pivot.
Sold on 3 July 1833 to the Duke of Abercorn, the present watch is one of the very first watches ever made by any watchmaker featuring a keyless stem winding and hour setting system and furthermore the additional feature of the date indication set by depressing a small corrector push button in the band, both rarities by themselves.
For centuries, watch movements were wound and the hands were set by means of a key, prone to create nuisance not only in case of loss of the latter but also, more importantly, because of damages to the movement caused by the infiltration of dust, dirt or humidity through the winding hole. Surprisingly it was not until the late 18th/early 19th century that serious efforts were made to resolve this problem, the result still today one of the most used features in horology: the stem winding and hour setting via the crown.
Although generally attributed to the French watchmaker Jean Adrien Philippe whose celebrated "mechanism for setting and winding watches by the pendant, applicable to all types of watches" was patented in 1845, it is barely known that already in 1830, Abraham Louis son Antoine-Louis Breguet marketed watches fitted with a combined winding and hand-setting system. His invention, the ancestor of all modern winding mechanisms, consisted of a knurled winding button to be turned from left to right until a stop was reached. The first watch incorporating this revolutionary system was sold on 30 December 1830 to Comte Charles de l'Espine, the accompanying certificate stating: "To rewind the watch, which may be done either while it is still in its case or after it has been removed from it, it is sufficient to turn the winding crown situated in the pendant from right to left between thumb and forefinger, continuing until resistance is felt". Regrettably, Antoine-Louis omitted to patent his revolutionary invention, another milestone in the history of watchmaking and another highlight in the house's extensive credentials.
The present "montre simple" is one of the very few surviving examples of this category of Breguet's production, made in much smaller numbers than the other types, especially the much more popular repeating watches which could be used in the dark. Its lever movement, made "sur les principles des chronomètres" (on the principles of chronometers), is the highest standard of Breguet's "simple" watches, watches without noteworthy complications. Such movements were fully jewelled, with lever escapements and compensation balances, often featuring phases of the moon, seconds hands or dial regulators.
The highest grade examples of the "montre simple" with lever escapement would cost an average of 2,000 Francs - emphasizing the importance of the present watch, sold for 3,780 Francs. This impressive amount reflects not only the superior quality of its movement but most importantly its keyless winding and hour setting system as well as the date corrector: by depressing the small button in the band near the pendant, the date hand jumps by half a day steps - as opposed to the at the time much more common system of adjusting the date by pushing the date hand with a wooden pin to the correct position.
The appearance of a watch presenting historically important technical features, having reamined in the same noble family since its purchase in 1833 and still retaining the original Notice and box is one of scarce highlights in today's collector's market.
Covering three Breguet generations, starting with the founder Abraham-Louis and his contribution to the development of the keyless winding and hour setting mechanism, his son Antoine-Louis who perfected and commercialized it and lastly the latter's son Louis-Clément who sold it only 6 weeks after the foundation of his firm, watch no. 5015 is an important witness of the work and legacy of the house of Breguet.
For a similar watch, no. 5076 sold in 1836, today in the collections of The State Hermitage in St. Petersburg, see Breguet in the Hermitage, The State Museum St. Petersburg, 2004, p. 107, pl. 98.
The Notice describes the watch as a very small "montre simple", without repeating, on the principles of chronometers, with all functions on the outside of the case, engine-turned gold case, white matte silver dial, date indication, olive-shaped pendant with small button through which the movement is wound and the hands are set, advance/retard functions in the band of the watch, small pin in the band, not far from the pendant, for date setting, lever movement set with rubies, elastic double suspension on the regulator pivot.
Sold on 3 July 1833 to the Duke of Abercorn, the present watch is one of the very first watches ever made by any watchmaker featuring a keyless stem winding and hour setting system and furthermore the additional feature of the date indication set by depressing a small corrector push button in the band, both rarities by themselves.
For centuries, watch movements were wound and the hands were set by means of a key, prone to create nuisance not only in case of loss of the latter but also, more importantly, because of damages to the movement caused by the infiltration of dust, dirt or humidity through the winding hole. Surprisingly it was not until the late 18th/early 19th century that serious efforts were made to resolve this problem, the result still today one of the most used features in horology: the stem winding and hour setting via the crown.
Although generally attributed to the French watchmaker Jean Adrien Philippe whose celebrated "mechanism for setting and winding watches by the pendant, applicable to all types of watches" was patented in 1845, it is barely known that already in 1830, Abraham Louis son Antoine-Louis Breguet marketed watches fitted with a combined winding and hand-setting system. His invention, the ancestor of all modern winding mechanisms, consisted of a knurled winding button to be turned from left to right until a stop was reached. The first watch incorporating this revolutionary system was sold on 30 December 1830 to Comte Charles de l'Espine, the accompanying certificate stating: "To rewind the watch, which may be done either while it is still in its case or after it has been removed from it, it is sufficient to turn the winding crown situated in the pendant from right to left between thumb and forefinger, continuing until resistance is felt". Regrettably, Antoine-Louis omitted to patent his revolutionary invention, another milestone in the history of watchmaking and another highlight in the house's extensive credentials.
The present "montre simple" is one of the very few surviving examples of this category of Breguet's production, made in much smaller numbers than the other types, especially the much more popular repeating watches which could be used in the dark. Its lever movement, made "sur les principles des chronomètres" (on the principles of chronometers), is the highest standard of Breguet's "simple" watches, watches without noteworthy complications. Such movements were fully jewelled, with lever escapements and compensation balances, often featuring phases of the moon, seconds hands or dial regulators.
The highest grade examples of the "montre simple" with lever escapement would cost an average of 2,000 Francs - emphasizing the importance of the present watch, sold for 3,780 Francs. This impressive amount reflects not only the superior quality of its movement but most importantly its keyless winding and hour setting system as well as the date corrector: by depressing the small button in the band near the pendant, the date hand jumps by half a day steps - as opposed to the at the time much more common system of adjusting the date by pushing the date hand with a wooden pin to the correct position.
The appearance of a watch presenting historically important technical features, having reamined in the same noble family since its purchase in 1833 and still retaining the original Notice and box is one of scarce highlights in today's collector's market.
Covering three Breguet generations, starting with the founder Abraham-Louis and his contribution to the development of the keyless winding and hour setting mechanism, his son Antoine-Louis who perfected and commercialized it and lastly the latter's son Louis-Clément who sold it only 6 weeks after the foundation of his firm, watch no. 5015 is an important witness of the work and legacy of the house of Breguet.
For a similar watch, no. 5076 sold in 1836, today in the collections of The State Hermitage in St. Petersburg, see Breguet in the Hermitage, The State Museum St. Petersburg, 2004, p. 107, pl. 98.