Breguet et Fils
Horloge Marine à Deux Barillets Petit Modèle | A gilt brass and mahogany, two-day Marine Chronometer with double barrels | Made in 1831
Lot Closed
November 7, 01:40 PM GMT
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 CHF
Lot Details
Description
Breguet et Fils
Horloge Marine à Deux Barillets Petit Modèle
A gilt brass and mahogany, two-day Marine Chronometer with double barrels
Made in 1831
Dial: silvered
Calibre: gilt half plate manual movement with twin going barrels, each wound separately, compensated bi-metallic balance with steel helical spring and Earnshaw type spring detent escapement.
Movement number: 213
Case: mahogany two-part box with sliding inspection cover to the upper section inlaid with a brass lozenge numbered 4890, brass handles to the sides and oval brass key escutcheon to the front, mounted to the interior.
Serial number: 4890
Size: 210 x 180 x 185 mm, dial 95 mm diameter
Signed: Dial
Accessories: winding and setting key, key to open the case and key to screw the case down
In a report written in 1796, Abraham-Louis Breguet stated that he had already made some marine chronometers, and that these had made his name known in Spain. He had almost certainly started started this work as early as the 1780s. Subsequently, it was not until his appointment as Horologer to the French Royal Navy in 1815 that he began producing chronometers on a regular basis. In his usual fashion, he endowed the instruments with a variety of different escapements, and constantly introduced improvements, including notably his twin-barrel chronometer, designed in about 1815, in which the entire escapement is mounted on a small interchangeable plate. For several decades, Breguet’s son and grandson continued to supply both the navy and the merchant navy with chronometers.
According to Breguet's Heritage Department, the piece was started in 1829 and completed in 1831. The watch was sold on April 1st, 1834 by Mr. Ducom, Breguet's agent in the city of Bordeaux for the price of 1800 Francs. There are no records of repairs in Breguet's workshops.