536,900 CHF
“Monsieur Castaneda” Breguet, No. 1790, Sold to Monsieur Castaneda, le 1 Brumaire, an 14 (October 23, 1806) for 3600 Francs with a discount of 400 Francs. Extremely fine and important, 18K gold, grande and petite sonnerie striking, independent two-train clockwatch with minute repeat and ruby cylinder escapement. Four-body, "Consular", No. 2405 by Tavernier (mastermark), engine-turned, reeded bezel and border, central rosette. Hinged gold cuvette with apertures for winding. Notes It is interesting to note that this watch was sold for 3,600 francs, more than twice the price of a simple tourbillon watch at the time (1,800 francs), or four times the price of a gold souscription watch (800 francs). This high price reflects the fact that it was a watch of great value, and very difficult to construct. and very difficult to construct. For example, if we refer to the Breguet archives, the prices of tourbillon watches ranged from 600 francs (No. 4921, sold in 1836), to 4640 francs (No. 1918, sold in 1822). The repetition system in this early 19th century watch could be a prototype of the modern minute-repeating system, with the exception of the movable star. It employs a very long all-or-nothing lever (prevailing from striking when the piston is not pushed to the very end, and thus assuring that the repeating always corresponds to the correct hour). The long lever allows for just a slight movement of the star. The independent striking train is elegantly set on the back plate, a
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2006-05-14
