96th Auction
2017/11/18
Lot 391
Breguet, Movement No. 4269, Case No. 12158, 38 mm, 74 g, circa 1882
An important, small quarter repeating hunting case pocket watch with perpetual calendar, moon phase and moon age - sold to Mir et Cotterau (Breguet agents in Constantinople) on December 29, 1885 for the sum of 2500 Francs - with Breguet certificate
Case: 18k gold, case maker's punch mark "MF" (Meylan Frères). Dial: enamel. Movm.: bridge movement, 2 hammers / 2 gongs, gold screw compensation balance.
The watch is a very fine example of a complicated timepiece made by Louis Audemars & Cie.; after the company was dissolved it was bought and sold on by Breguet. This watch is not only the smallest ever with perpetual calendar, but - according to Charles Brown, former owner of Breguet - also the smallest watch of this type Breguet ever sold.
According to the Louis Audemars records, production of this watch number 12,158 began as early as 1873. Meylan Frères produced the case in May 1875 and on May 29, 1876 the watch was shipped to Russia. It was, however, not sold and on June 30, 1880 it was listed in the inventory of M. Jules Jaques; at the time Jules Jaques was the representative of watch manufacturer Mermod Frères St. Croix in Vienna and Russia and between 1870 and 1880, agent for Louis Audemars & Cie. in Eastern Europe. Due to poor organization and wrong decisions with regard to the important Austrian and Russian market, Jules Jaques played a major role in the liquidation of Louis Audemars & Cie. After the company was dissolved, the watch was eventually sold to Breguet on September 5, 1885.
Audemars also delivered a gentleman‘s impressive pocket watch of the same type to Breguet at the same time. Both of them together - the gentleman’s pocket watch Breguet no. 3938 and this lady’s pocket watch Breguet no. 4269 - were delivered on the same date, December 29, 1885, and for the same price to renowned Turkish jeweller Mir et Cottereau in Constantinople. Mir et Cottereau in Constantinople were Breguet’s representatives on the Ottoman market at the end of the 19th century. The initials on the gentleman’s watch indicate that the watch was ordered and bought by Sultan Abdülhamed II, 34th sultan of the Ottoman empire from 1876 until 1909 - presumably together with the lady’s watch we have here.
Provenance: The Art of Breguet, Antiquorum, April 14, 1991, lot no. 108, page 323 - sold for 80,000 Swiss francs
An important, small quarter repeating hunting case pocket watch with perpetual calendar, moon phase and moon age - sold to Mir et Cotterau (Breguet agents in Constantinople) on December 29, 1885 for the sum of 2500 Francs - with Breguet certificate
Case: 18k gold, case maker's punch mark "MF" (Meylan Frères). Dial: enamel. Movm.: bridge movement, 2 hammers / 2 gongs, gold screw compensation balance.
The watch is a very fine example of a complicated timepiece made by Louis Audemars & Cie.; after the company was dissolved it was bought and sold on by Breguet. This watch is not only the smallest ever with perpetual calendar, but - according to Charles Brown, former owner of Breguet - also the smallest watch of this type Breguet ever sold.
According to the Louis Audemars records, production of this watch number 12,158 began as early as 1873. Meylan Frères produced the case in May 1875 and on May 29, 1876 the watch was shipped to Russia. It was, however, not sold and on June 30, 1880 it was listed in the inventory of M. Jules Jaques; at the time Jules Jaques was the representative of watch manufacturer Mermod Frères St. Croix in Vienna and Russia and between 1870 and 1880, agent for Louis Audemars & Cie. in Eastern Europe. Due to poor organization and wrong decisions with regard to the important Austrian and Russian market, Jules Jaques played a major role in the liquidation of Louis Audemars & Cie. After the company was dissolved, the watch was eventually sold to Breguet on September 5, 1885.
Audemars also delivered a gentleman‘s impressive pocket watch of the same type to Breguet at the same time. Both of them together - the gentleman’s pocket watch Breguet no. 3938 and this lady’s pocket watch Breguet no. 4269 - were delivered on the same date, December 29, 1885, and for the same price to renowned Turkish jeweller Mir et Cottereau in Constantinople. Mir et Cottereau in Constantinople were Breguet’s representatives on the Ottoman market at the end of the 19th century. The initials on the gentleman’s watch indicate that the watch was ordered and bought by Sultan Abdülhamed II, 34th sultan of the Ottoman empire from 1876 until 1909 - presumably together with the lady’s watch we have here.
Provenance: The Art of Breguet, Antiquorum, April 14, 1991, lot no. 108, page 323 - sold for 80,000 Swiss francs
estimated
66.000—100.000 €
Price realized
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