2,875 CHF
Antoine-Louis Breguet, dated 22 October 1818. Notes BREGUET PERPETUELLE No.1 completed in August 1782 Abraham-Louis Breguet is widely regarded as the father of the modern mechanical watch; the influence of his inventions, his improvements to already existing technology and his advances in the area of series production can be seen throughout the 200 years of watchmaking that have followed. The recent discovery of watch No.1 8/82 not only provides confirmation of much that has been written about Breguet's early work, both by himself, his contemporaries and subsequent historians, but also demonstrates just how much of a sea-change his approach to watchmaking represented by comparison to his peers and predecessors. Tompion, Harrison, Mudge, Leroy, Perrelet, Lepine etc., all advanced the science of horology, either by invention or improvement. But with the exception of the latter, all had incorporated their ideas into watches based on a caliber of movement of which the design had remained virtually constant for 200 years - two plates, ancillaries on the back and front. Lepine's caliber was certainly a radical and influential departure, but with the perpetuelle Breguet devised the first watch designed specifically around its functions and destined to be made in series. Watch No.1- 8/82 is the earliest dateable example of his work.
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
1997-10-18
