281,250 CHF
A Monsieur Von Humboldt "Garde-temps" No. 147, sold in 1805 ,for the sum of 960 Francs. Silver "garde-temps" watch. Notes History: According to the repair books, the watch was returned by Baron von Humboldt for overhaul on 11 April 1827. Note: The enamel dial of this watch is numbered 15 in the same way that watch No. 3248 (see lot 65) bears the No. 6; and they were in fact made for a series of garde-temps before Breguet left for Switzerland. As virtually all the watches were finished well after his return, the movements bear much higher numbers. During Breguet's lifetime, the firm made very few watches destined for entirely functional use as pocket chronometers or deck watches, unlike the contemporary english and french makers, such as Arnold, Earnshaw, Berthoud and Motel, who made little else. The records indicate that von Humboldt bought at least three of which two are included here, the third being in the Beyer Museum in Zurich. Literature: Illustrated and described in G. Daniels, The Art of Breguet , p. 160, figs. 108 a - d. Baron ALEXANDER von HUMBOLDT (1769-1859) Baron Friedrich, Heinrich, Alexander von Humboldt, Prussian natural scientist, was born in 1769 in Berlin and died in 1859. He was the brother of Wilhelm von Humboldt, the German diplomat and learned philologist and philosopher of language. He was a great traveller, explored America with Bonpland (Journey to the Equinoxial Regions of the New Continent between 1799 and 1804). His second home was Fra Read more…
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
1991-04-14
