Pocket Watches · Pocket watch

Breguet 18ct pocket watch, circa 1904

DocumentedDocumented from an auction catalogue; attribution as stated by the auction house.

Maker / attribution: Unrecorded in source
Date: c. 1904
Historical period: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
Country of origin: Unrecorded in source
Object type: Pocket watch
Dimensions: Diameter 51.5 mm
Auction house: Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham
Lot: Sale 7, lot 245
Credit line: Auction lot record: lot 245, The Watch Auction, Gardiner Houlgate (24th February 2021)
Catalogue title (original): Rare and fine Breguet 18ct pocket watch, No. 4833, circa 1904, with independent seconds, split second function and five minute repeating activated with two buttons and slide to the case band, stem win (English)

View the source record (auction lot) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham (lot Sale 7, lot 245), this is a pocket watch, dated c. 1904. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Pocket Watches collection. Recorded dimensions: Diameter 51.5 mm. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Lot description — Gardiner Houlgate

Rare and fine Breguet 18ct pocket watch, No. 4833, circa 1904, with independent seconds, split second function and five minute repeating activated with two buttons and slide to the case band, stem wind on two spring barrels, gilt jeweled 19 lignes lever movement with compensated balance and hammers striking on gongs, signed and numbered white dial with Roman dial and outer Arabic track, blued steel hands, the cuvette signed and numbered, the case back with engraved monogram, case. 16230, 113.1gm, 51.5mm - ** with 'J et B Rosseels' box ** With a certificate of Origin supplied by Emmanuel Breguet in December 2017 confirming the watch was sold to Monsieur Legros on the 8th August 1919 - ** Lucien Alphose Legros (1866-1933) - was the eldest son of Professor Alphonse Legros, a well known artist who emigrated to London. After serving a general engineering apprenticeship and holding several positions, his interest in motor vehicles started in 1904 as a partner in Legros and Knowles, manufacturers of the Iris car. In WWI he worked on the design of tanks and was the President of the Institution of Automobile Engineers in 1911-12 and 1915-17. He died in June 1933 following a street accident

Historical context

Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)

The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.

The pocket watch reached technical maturity and then began to give way to the wristwatch after the First World War. Complicated watches for collectors such as Henry Graves Jr. and James Ward Packard, railroad watches, and slim Art Deco dress watches are characteristic.

Read the period in the timeline More pocket watches from this period Earlier: Industrial Revolution

Atlas type guide

Repeating watches

Before electric light, telling the time in the dark was a real problem. Repeating watches strike the time on demand when a slide or push-piece is operated: quarter repeaters sound hours and quarters, minute repeaters hours, quarters and minutes. Edward Barlow and Daniel Quare disputed the invention in London in the 1680s. Early repeaters struck on a bell inside the case; Abraham-Louis Breguet introduced the gong (a coiled steel wire) around 1780, allowing thinner watches.

Repeaters require a separate train with racks, snails and a governor to control the striking speed, and are among the most demanding complications to make and adjust. Swiss makers of the Vallée de Joux specialised in repeating ébauches in the nineteenth century.

What to look for

A slide on the case band or a push-piece through the pendant.
Gongs encircling the movement (after c. 1780) or a bell in the case (earlier); pierced case for sound.
The racks, snails and governor visible under the dial or on the movement.
Terms such as 'Minutes', 'Quarts' or 'Répétition' on the dial or cuvette.

Dating clues

Bell-striking quarter repeaters: c. 1690–1800.
Gong repeaters and dumb repeaters (striking on the case): after c. 1780.
Minute repeaters became more common after c. 1830 with Vallée de Joux ébauches.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

Mechanisms mentioned

Minute repeater — Complication
Compensation balance — Component
Keyless (stem) winding — Component
Split-seconds chronograph — Complication
Deadbeat (independent) seconds — Complication

Record completeness

Maker or attributionNot in source
DateRecorded
Place or countryNot in source
MaterialsNot in source
DimensionsRecorded
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksNot in source
ProvenanceNot in source
Several photographsNot in source

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

Explore further

Sources & image rights

Record source: Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: © Gardiner Houlgate — auction photographs; permission required (opens another website in a new tab).

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal, or grant permission, via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"Breguet 18ct pocket watch, circa 1904." Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham, Sale 7, lot 245. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/and-fine-breguet-18ct-pocket-watch-circa-1904-da3bf9.