Property from a branch of the Breguet family
A 20ct gold open-faced ruby cylinder watch quarter-repeating à toc
Breguet et Fils No. 1471 | Sold to Breguet’s Agent Moreau on 30 April 1807 for Fr. 1,639
Auction Closed
November 9, 08:49 PM GMT
Estimate
10,000 - 20,000 CHF
Lot Details
Description
23’’’ gilded movement, large going barrel, ruby cylinder escapement, plain flat three-arm balance with parachute suspension, blued steel flat spiral balance spring with bi-metallic compensation curb, extended blued steel regulation arm with arc for cuvette aperture, repeating train with partially exposed blued steel spring, racks beneath dial, single polished asymmetrically shaped hammer repeating à toc on block mounted to interior of band
gold dial with secret signature twice engraved No. 1471 Breguet between 11 and 1 o’clock, engine-turned body à grains d’orge, twin satin finished chapter rings for hours with black Roman numerals and pearled minutes, crémaillère borders, angled cartouche above VI signed Breguet et Fils, back numbered 1471
20ct gold Tavernier case, engine-turned à grains d’orge, milled and raised fluted band, quarter-turn repeating piston to pendant, polished bezels, gilded cuvette with apertures for winding and regulation, cuvette signed Breguet No. 1471, case back interior with rubbed Paris assay and discharge marks comprising baby’s head 2 in irregular cartouche (2nd standard gold 840/1000), cockerel to left in oval frame 2 (840/1000, 1798-1809), P. B T beneath a triangle in irregular pentagonal cartouche for Pierre-Benjamin Tavernier, numbered 1471 B, 2528
Measurements
diameter 55.5mm
case depth 14.5mm
weight 124.34g
Accompaniments
with a later associated key and a Breguet 250th anniversary certificate
Purchased from George Brown at Breguet 24 October 1959.
The Breguet Archives record that this watch was returned to the firm for servicing several times between the years 1828 and 1850, each time on behalf of Madame la Duchesse de Montebello. Louis Antoinette Guéhennec (1782-1856) was the widow of Jean Lannes, Duke of Montebello (1769-1809), and it therefore seems likely that the watch was originally sold to the Duke by Moreau.
Jean Lannes, Duke of Montebello (1769–1809) was among the most celebrated of Napoleon’s commanders and one of the first to be created Maréchal d’Empire in 1804, the highest military rank of the Empire. Born in Lectoure to a modest family, he rose from a dyer’s apprentice to become one of the most formidable generals of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, distinguishing himself in Italy, Egypt, and later at Austerlitz, Jena, and Friedland. Admired for his personal bravery and tactical skill, he was also noted for his frankness with Napoleon, who reputedly called him “the Roland of my army”, evoking the medieval knight as an emblem of courage and loyalty. In 1808 he was elevated to the title Duke of Montebello. The following year he was grievously wounded by a cannonball at the Battle of Aspern-Essling; despite amputation of his legs, he died in Vienna on 31 May 1809. His loss was a profound blow to Napoleon, who considered Lannes not only one of his most courageous commanders but also one of his closest companions in arms.
For a note on Lazare Moreau, see lot 38.