Property from a branch of the Breguet family
A gold open-faced quarter repeating ruby cylinder watch with moon phases with gold chain, ratchet key and later presentation case
Breguet No. 3053 | Sold to Lady Guilford 5 December 1817
Auction Closed
November 9, 08:49 PM GMT
Estimate
30,000 - 60,000 CHF
Lot Details
Description
gilded movement, large going barrel, ruby cylinder escapement, plain flat three-arm balance with parachute suspension, blued steel flat balance spring, extended blued steel regulation arm with arc for cuvette aperture, repeating train with partially exposed blued steel spring, racks beneath dial, polished steel hammer striking intermediary hammer to repeat on single coiled gong
silver dial, engine-turned clous de Paris decoration, twin grained chapter rings with black Roman numerals and pearled minutes, crémaillère borders, aperture for moon phases at 6 o’clock, blued moon disc, the moon and stars rendered in gold, aperture edge calibrated for moon age, the surround engraved with clouds and signed Breguet, blued steel Breguet hands, back numbered B 3053 T, B 1936 T
gold case engine-turned à grains d’orge, pendant with quarter-turn piston for repeat, reeded band, back centred by circular cartouche with script engraved initials SG beneath earl’s coronet, inside case back engraved Georgina, gold hinged cuvette with securing screw and apertures for winding and regulation, finely engine-turned case sides with raised central ridged band, cuvette signed Breguet No. 3053
accompanied by a short gold Breguet chain and ratchet key, jump ring to key clip twice stamped with French eagle’s head assay mark, later morocco leather Breguet box with gold tooling, numbered 4146 to lid, the base signed Breguet, 28, Place Vendome, Paris, fitted velvet lined interior, silk lining to lid, the signature and address repeated
Measurements
diameter 42.7mm
depth including crystal 9.5mm
weight without chain 57g
weight including chain 63.6g
Accompaniments
with a short gold Breguet chain and ratchet key, jump ring to key clip twice stamped with French eagle’s head assay mark, later morocco leather Breguet box with gold tooling, numbered 4146 to lid, the base signed Breguet, 28, Place Vendome, Paris, fitted velvet lined interior, silk lining to lid, the signature and address repeated and a Breguet 250th anniversary certificate
Lady Guilford.
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Gilberte Fenwick née Breguet (1910-1973).
Current Collection, purchased from the above on 25 January 1967.
Breguet, Emmanuel, Breguet Watchmakers since 1775, Revised and Expanded Edition, Swan Éditeur, 2016, p. 204, fig. 235.
Although Breguet often experimented with the placement of dial indications and apertures, resulting in some notably eccentric layouts, the positioning of an inverted aperture for moon phases at 6 o’clock is exceptionally rare and highly unusual.
Lady Guilford
Watch no. 3053 is recorded in the Breguet archives as having been sold on 5 December 1817 to a client listed simply as ‘Lady Guilford.’
The outer case back of the watch bears an engraved cartouche containing the initials “S.G.” beneath an Earl’s coronet—suggesting that the watch was made for Susan Guilford, née Susan Coutts (c.1770–1837). As the second wife and widow of George Augustus North, 3rd Earl of Guilford (1757–1802), Susan held the title Countess of Guilford following their marriage on 28 February 1796. Susan was the second daughter of Thomas Coutts, the founder of the bank Coutts & Co (another Breguet watch sold to a Madame Coutts, no. 3625, was sold in these rooms on 15 November 2006, lot 212). Following her husband’s death, she retained the style Lady Guilford in accordance with aristocratic custom.
Although her brother-in-law Francis North (1761–1817) succeeded to the earldom as the 4th Earl of Guilford, his marriage to Maria Boycott (c.1774–1822) took place only in 1810, and he died in January 1817—just months before the purchase of Breguet no. 3053. During this transitional period, and especially given her seniority, Susan would have continued to be widely known as Lady Guilford in both formal and social contexts.
A later inscription to the interior of the case back reads: “Georgina.” This may be a reference to Lady Georgi[a]na North (1798–1835), Susan’s only daughter. It is plausible that the watch, originally bought by Susan, was later gifted to Georgina, who would have been 19 at the time of purchase.
Susan North’s father-in-law, Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (1732–1792), better known as Lord North, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782, overseeing government during the turbulent years of the American War of Independence. A capable administrator he enjoyed a close relationship with King George III – the latter of course a great admirer and patron of Breguet. North was widely recognised for his loyalty, though his premiership ultimately ended in political controversy following the loss of the American colonies. His long career nonetheless secured the Guilford family’s enduring prominence in national affairs. His principal residence was Waldershare Park, near Dover in Kent—a grand mansion built in the early 18th which passed into the Guilford family by inheritance and marriage.
Breguet no. 3053 later passed into the ownership of Gilberte Breguet, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Abraham-Louis Breguet. The daughter of Louis-Charles Breguet (1880–1955), she was directly descended from Abraham-Louis Breguet’s son, Antoine-Louis (1776–1858).