512,250 CHF
A Monsieur le Comte Journiac St. Méard "Perpétuelle" watch No. 5, begun on 4 April 1787, the construction interrupted during the Revolution but restarted in 1792; finished and sold on 24 Ventose an 2 (14 March 1794), for the sum of 3600 Francs. Gold self- winding watch with "à toc" quarterrepeating, constructed on the principals of the " garde-temps", with phases and age of the moon, and winding indicator. Notes History: This watch was subsequently delivered by Jourgniac St.Méard to a Count Fortier. According to the repair books it returned for overhaul in 1844 and 1845 at the request of a Monsieur Beauman of 18 Boulevard des Italiens. The repair entry notes that the watch had not been returned since the day of sale in 1794 Provenance: Formerly in the Rothschild collection, this watch is illustrated and described in G.Daniels: The Art of Breguet, p. 130, fig.74 a,b and c, and colour plate X. Note: Breguet, himself, never claimed to be the inventor of the perpetuelle ( the name he gave to his self-winding watches), the earliest being produced in Switzerland by Abraham Louis Perrelet in approximately 1770. These first examples were unsuccessful due to the inadequecy of the winding system, which virtually required the wearer to proceed at a run in order to keep the movement sufficiently wound. Breguet's design was revolutionary by comparison, and incorporated several new " inventions" that were far ahead of their time: two barrels to enable lighter mainsprings t
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
1991-04-14
