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Breguet
"Tourbillon with Guillaume Balance"
An extremely fine, rare, and important two-tone yellow and white gold keyless one minute tourbillon open-face pocket watch with Guillaume balance and power reserve
Full-Cataloguing
- Tourbillon with power reserve
- Guillaume balance
Breguet No. 1095 is a particularly fine example of the Maison’s approach to precision timekeeping. Sold on 31 December 1965 to Monsieur Mennesson for 30,000 French Francs, the present openface pocket chronometer combines a high-quality movement with an impressive tourbillon and a number of features associated with Breguet’s most serious timekeepers.
The watch is powered by a Victorin Piguet calibre 19''' half-plate, nickel-finished jewelled lever movement, fitted with a large, highly polished steel three-arm tourbillon cage. The cage was made by Fritz A. Robert-Charrue, a protégé of James Pellaton and an accomplished specialist in tourbillon construction. Robert-Charrue later succeeded Pellaton as teacher and director of the Technicum in Le Locle, and was responsible for a number of notable developments in tourbillon construction including one of the world’s smallest tourbillons. The movement is further fitted with a Guillaume balance, prized for its ability to compensate for variations in temperature and thus contribute to the stability of the rate.
The engine-turned silver dial is characteristic of a Breguet, with Roman numerals arranged on a plain chapter ring and complemented by gold Breguet hands. A power-reserve indication occupies the upper portion of the dial, while subsidiary seconds are displayed at 6 o’clock.
The yellow-gold case is distinguished by a white-gold border to the bezel and caseback, adding a discreet contrast to the otherwise restrained design. Upon removal of the solid caseback, the beautifully finished movement and its substantial tourbillon cage can be fully appreciated, revealing the technical character of this exceptional Breguet chronometer.
Breguet
Swiss | 1775Established in 1775 by Abraham Louis Breguet, widely considered the greatest watchmaker of all time, the storied brand continues to thrive in the modern era, creating exceptional high-end watches as the Swatch Group's premier prestige brand. Some of the most important and lasting inventions in watchmaking are attributed to Abraham Louis Breguet, including the tourbillon, shock resistance and the use of hammers and gongs employed in nearly all minute repeating watches made since.
Eighteenth and nineteenth century Breguet pocketwatches are especially sought-after by collectors, and many of them were made for the elite of European society, including Napoléon and Marie Antoinette. Key wristwatches from the twentieth century include oversized dress watches, two-register chronographs, triple calendars and Type XX aviator's chronographs made for the French military and civilians.