A silver and gold montre souscription à tact

Lord Lauderdale for General Kitroff 1804.

Sotheby & Co. London, 29 July 1963, lot 247 £480 $1,344, sold to Mrs Oakes.

Purchased from the above.

• Daniels, George, The Art of Breguet, London & New York: Sotheby Parke, Bernet, 1975, p. 189, figs. 160 a-c.
• Breguet, Emmanuel, Breguet Watchmakers since 1775, Revised and Expanded Edition, Swan Éditeur, 2016, pp. 156-157, fig. 171.

Although Breguet’s montres à tact often only have touch pins within the band at the hours, the present watch features additional slots incised into the rim of the rotating case back beside the tip of the tact hand, allowing the time to be estimated more easily to the nearest five minutes.

General Kitroff

In 1804, relations between Britain and Russia were undergoing a crucial realignment, shaped by shared concerns over Napoleon Bonaparte’s growing power and ambition. Although the two powers had not yet formalised an alliance, their strategic interests were converging rapidly. Britain, already at war with France since 1803, grew increasingly alarmed by Napoleon’s preparations for a cross-Channel invasion and his tightening grip on continental Europe. In Russia, Emperor Alexander I - young, idealistic, and eager to assert moral leadership - was deeply disturbed by Napoleon’s execution of the Duc d’Enghien in March 1804, a Bourbon prince whose death shocked European aristocracy and undermined any remaining illusions about the nature of Napoleon’s regime.

It was in this tense and transitional moment that this finely made Breguet watch was presented by James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale, to General Kitroff, a Russian officer who by 1808 would serve as aide-de-camp to Grand Duke Constantine.¹ The watch was purchased on 14 May 1804, just days before Napoleon was officially declared Emperor of the French. Though the precise context of the gift remains speculative, its timing and the identities involved suggest the possibility of a diplomatic gesture, perhaps part of the broader British effort to strengthen ties with Russia through informal channels as well as formal negotiation. Notably, despite the fact that Breguet watches were made in France, they continued to be highly coveted even by the country’s foes, a testament to their exceptional craftsmanship and prestige across Europe’s aristocratic elites. At a time when personal gifts among such circles often carried political undertones, the watch may have served as a symbol of goodwill or influence at a moment when Britain and Russia were quietly rebuilding trust. Their converging interests - preserving the European balance of power, curbing French expansion, and defending dynastic legitimacy - would soon solidify in the Anglo-Russian alliance of 1805 and the formation of the Third Coalition. The gift, viewed in this light, embodies the subtler forms of diplomacy that accompanied the great power realignments of the Napoleonic era.

Although little is recorded of General Kitroff, it is known that he attended the Congress of Erfurt as part of Emperor Alexander I’s entourage, by which time he was serving as aide-de-camp to Grand Duke Constantine.² His inclusion in the imperial party suggests his trusted status within the Russian military establishment and his proximity to the Romanov court at a moment of critical diplomatic significance.

The Congress of Erfurt, held from 27 September to 14 October 1808, was a high-profile summit between Napoleon Bonaparte and Emperor Alexander I, intended to reaffirm their alliance amid rising tensions in Europe. While the meeting projected unity through public displays of friendship and ceremony, key differences remained unresolved—particularly over Poland, the Balkans, and the war in Spain. Despite its diplomatic theatre, the congress failed to restore genuine trust between the two powers, and the alliance would unravel within four years.

Further details about Kitroff emerge from official correspondence of early 1809, which places him at the heart of a diplomatic mission in the Danubian Principalities, then under Russian military administration. At this time, he was described as aide-de-camp to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia, temporarily attached to General Kutuzov at Jassy, and noted to be Kutuzov’s son-in-law. In February 1809, he arrived in Crajova with other high-ranking officers—including Colonel Kousnikoff and Lieutenant-Colonel Ouchakoff—to receive a delegation of foreign ambassadors. He was entrusted with a sum of 3,000 ducats (drawn from a total of 20,000 allocated by the Emperor) to cover their expenses and was responsible for coordinating their itinerary, route, and movements with both Russian and Ottoman officials. His administrative role included adjusting departure schedules while awaiting instructions from Jassy and liaising with senior figures such as Prince Menzikoff and General Prosorovski. These activities show Kitroff operating at a delicate nexus of diplomacy and military logistics, entrusted with both financial oversight and the management of protocol at a time when the political balance in southeastern Europe was under close negotiation between empires.³

Kitroff is referenced again a few years later in a letter written by Lord Burghersh to Lord Castlereagh from Florence on 27 September 1818. In the letter Lord Burghersh writes: “My dear Lord Castlereagh—Since my despatches directed to you have been sent to the post, I have an offer from General Kitroff to convey anything for you direct to Aix-La-Chapelle”.⁴

James Maitland, 8^th Earl of Lauderdale 1759-1839

James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale was a prominent Scottish nobleman whose career straddled the turbulent political and intellectual landscapes of late 18th- and early 19th-century Britain.

A staunch supporter of reform and civil liberty, Lauderdale entered the House of Commons in 1780 and rapidly established himself as a vigorous opponent of government repression. An ally of Charles James Fox, he was outspoken in his sympathy for the principles of the French Revolution (at least in its early, constitutional phase) and became known for his sharp critiques of British policy and aristocratic privilege.

Elevated to the House of Lords in 1790, Lauderdale remained active in public life, though increasingly drawn to political economy. In 1804, he published An Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Public Wealth, a pioneering work in economic theory. On 22 February 1806 he was created a Peer of the United Kingdom as Baron Lauderdale of Thirlestane, county Berwick. On 15 August 1782 he married Eleanor (d. 1856) the only daughter and heiress of Anthony Todd.

Lauderdale was appointed by the British government as a special envoy to Napoleon’s court in 1806. He travelled to Paris as part of the failed negotiations to end the War of the Third Coalition. There, he conferred directly with Talleyrand and French officials, but the mission ultimately collapsed over British refusal to accept France’s expanded influence in continental Europe. His experience in Paris left him deeply sceptical of Napoleon’s ambitions.

Lauderdale’s later years were spent largely in scholarly pursuits and managing his estate at Thirlestane Castle in Berwickshire, the grand ancestral home of the Maitland family since 1590. Though he never held high office, his influence as an intellectual and dissenting voice within the Whig establishment was lasting. He died in 1839, remembered less for political power than for his fearless independence of thought, his economic foresight, and his principled, if often controversial, engagement with the defining issues of his age. His great grandson, Arthur Balfour, would later become Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Lord Lauderdale also purchased Breguet No. 1913 in February 1807 for Fr. 2,760 – a quarter repeating, open-faced lever watch (see Chayette, 5 December 1985, lot 18). That watch was supplied to Lauderdale via Dubois Fils.

¹ Wairy, Louis Constant, Recollections of the Private Life of Napoleon, 1895, Chapter XI, p. 131.

² Ibid.

³ Odobescu, A. I., ed. Documente privitóre la Istoria Românilor: Urmare la colecțiunea luǐ Eudoxiu de Hurmuzaki. Suplement I, Volumul II: 1781–1814. Cu portretul lui Ioan Gheorghe Caragea Voevod. București: Ministeriului Afacerilor Straine Din Paris,1885, p. 543.

⁴ Vane, Charles William, ed. Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, 2^nd Marquess of Londonderry, London: John Murray, 1853, Vol. 12, p. 43.