Breguet & Fils pocket watch, circa 1810 — view 1 of 4 — View 1 of 4 · Image: Antiquorum Genève SA · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

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Pocket Watches · Pocket watch

Breguet & Fils pocket watch, circa 1810

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

Maker / attribution: Breguet & Fils (brand / maker)
Date: c. 1810
Historical period: Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Country of origin: France
Object type: Pocket watch
Materials / technique: 18k yellow gold
Dimensions: diameter 57.7 mm
Auction house: Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Lot: Lot 346-28
Credit line: Auction lot record: LOT 28, Geneva,January 3, 2022
Catalogue title (original): Breguet & Fils Large half-skeleton pocket watch, quarter-repeater; 18K yellow gold (English)

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

Record summary

Catalogued by Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva (lot Lot 346-28), this is a pocket watch by Breguet & Fils, made in France, dated c. 1810. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: 18k yellow gold. Recorded dimensions: diameter 57.7 mm. The record is illustrated with 4 photographs.

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

Antiquorum catalogue description

18K yellow gold, open-face, key-winding, round-shaped, large “Empire”, half-skeleton, pocket watch, with one horological complication:· Quarter-repeater by two hammers on two steel gongs (activated by depressing the pendant); safety bolt locking the repeater’s functions (slide located on the case-band at 1 o’clock)Case-back guilloché (engine-turned), with, in the low part, an escutcheon; fluted case-band.Gilded metal ring dial, with radial Roman numerals; blued steel “Breguet” hands.Movement 23’’’, gilded brass, going barrel, cylinder escapement, monometallic balance (gilded brass) and blued steel flat hairspring, pierced and engraved gilded continental cock; repeater work on the top plate.

Lot specifications (Antiquorum)

Model: apocryphal signature, not Abraham-Louis Breguet, probably made in the Neuchâtel mountains; Movement No.: 1 091; Case No.: 2 091 (by “E & M / F”, Neuchâtel mountains); Material: 18K yellow gold; Caliber: 23’’’, cylinder escapement; Diameter: 57.7 mm.; Weight: 99.2 gr. (approx.); Signature: cuvette (dome)

Inscriptions & marks

cuvette (dome)

Historical context

Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)

Harrison solves longitude; Mudge invents the lever; Breguet's Paris workshop defines the modern watch.

From 1750 to 1850 the watch became a precision instrument. Mudge's lever escapement, the cylinder escapement, Lépine's thin bar calibre, Breguet's innovations (overcoil, tourbillon, perpétuelle) and the pocket chronometer of Arnold and Earnshaw all date from this period, while verge watches remained common in cheaper production.

Read the period in the timeline More pocket watches from this period Earlier: Early Modern Horology

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

Balance spring (hairspring) — Component
Cylinder escapement — Escapement
Going barrel — Component
Minute repeater — Complication

Record completeness

Maker or attributionRecorded
DateRecorded
Place or countryRecorded
MaterialsRecorded
DimensionsRecorded
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksRecorded
ProvenanceNot in source
Several photographsRecorded

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

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Sources & image rights

Record source: Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: © Antiquorum Genève SA — 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 & Fils pocket watch, circa 1810." Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva, Lot 346-28. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/breguet-fils-pocket-watch-circa-1810-1f7736.