51,750 CHF
“Montre Médaillon à Tact” Breguet No. 852, third series, sold to Monsieur Tambu from Poland on 14 Nivose, an 10, (January 3, 1803) for 1680 Francs. Fine 18K pink gold, enamel and rose diamond-set montre médaillon à tact, with Breguet ratchet key and later Breguet fitted box. Small, eccentric, mounted on the barrel bridge, silvered with Arabic numerals and outer minute markers. Blued steel Breguet hands. Notes This watch was No. 41 in the Collection of Sir David Salomons. It is wrongly thought to have been bought by Lucien Bonaparte due to a certificate (sold with this lot) in which the numbers have been altered. According to the Breguet archives it was actually sold to Monsieur Tambu. The present watch is also described and illustrated by George Daniels in “The Art of Breguet”, p.182. Breguet classified his souscription watches as “petite”, “moyenne” and “grande”. Of about 915 “souscription” type watches that Breguet made, only about 35 “petites” are known to exist. They were the most expensive, averaging about SF 1,700. Breguet introduced them in the spring of 1799, the first one being sold to Madame Betancourt, the wife of his most trusted friend.
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2005-10-16
