16,100 CHF
Breguet et Fils, No. 3686, sold to Comte de Glasgow on May 28, 1822, for 1440 Francs. Very fine 18K gold pocket watch. Accompanied by a certificate. four-body, "forme quatre baguettes", engine-turned, gold hinged cuvette. silver, champlevé Roman numerals, outer minute dot divisions, engine-turned center. Blued steel Breguet hands. Notes The watch has a very romantic history. It appears, that when the Comte de Glasgow bought the watch in Paris, he was accompanied by a mysterious lady, whom Breguet recorded as Madame “xxx” and who on the same day bought watch o. 3689. In 1968 an eminent clock dealer, during one of his trips, spotted the watch in the shop of a watchmaker near Glasgow, among a pile of scrap movements. It was dirty and lacking its case. He bought it though as a rule he was not interested in watches. He became so fascinated by the beauty of the dial and the elegance of the movement that he enquired about the watch at the Maison Breguet in Paris and learned its early history. Impressed by its noble provenance and intrigued by the mysterious circumstances of its purchase, he had the watch restored to “as new condition”. This was done and the watch was issued a new certificate. The watch, however, was lost after only a few years. The owner, in despair, made inquiries and eventually called us. The serialal number was put into our database, and, happily, the watch was recoverd -- some 25 years later! The owner, by that time retired, decided after having enjoyed
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2003-10-11
