Pocket Watches · Watch
Watch by Auguste Bretonneau, France, 1625–1650
- Maker / attribution
- Auguste Bretonneau (Horloger)
- Date
- 1625–1650
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- France
- Place
- Paris, France
- Object type
- Watch
- Materials / technique
- brass, gold
- Dimensions
- depth 1,5 cm; diameter 3,2 cm
- Holding institution
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Accession / object no.
- OA 8293
- Credit line
- Musée du Louvre, Département des Objets d'art du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes
- Catalogue title (original)
- Montre ronde (French)
View the source record ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Musée du Louvre, Paris (object number OA 8293), this is a watch by Auguste Bretonneau, made in Paris, France, dated 1625–1650. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: brass, gold. Recorded dimensions: depth 1,5 cm; diameter 3,2 cm. The record is illustrated with 2 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
Catalogue description — Musée du Louvre (French)
Le fond et le couvercle du boîtier ornés d'un médaillon central gravé de fleurs, le bouquet du fond présentant un lis et celui du couvercle une fleur de fraisier. Autour des médaillons, des palmes retenues par des rubans noués se détachant en or gravé sur un fond bleu opaque, décor encadré de feuilles de laurier gravées. Pourtour du boîtier orné de cinq médaillons ovales réservés gravés de fleurs, séparés par des rubans se détachant en réserve sur un émail bleu opaque. Charnière gravée de stries au-dessus du XII, tête du pendant en forme de boule. Cercle horaire à chiffres romains encadrant une couche unie d'émail bleu opaque. Mouvement doté d'un échappement à roue de rencontre, une fusée avec corde à boyau. Coq repercé et gravé de fleurs.
Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.
Dating and period as catalogued (French)
Epoque / période : Louis XIII (1610-1643) (Occident->époque moderne = Ancien Régime->dynastie des Bourbons) ; Louis XIV (1643-1715) (Occident->époque moderne = Ancien Régime->dynastie des Bourbons) · · Date de création/fabrication : 1625 - 1650
Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.
Materials and techniques as catalogued (French)
Matériau : laiton · Matériau : or · Technique : techniques métal (orfèvrerie) · Technique : émaillé = émaillage = émail = émaux (techniques métal)
Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.
Inscriptions & marks
Poinçon : ; petite garantie, Paris, depuis 1838 (deux fois) ; Signature : ; mouvement signé : A.Bretonneau/AParis
Provenance
collections du musée Carnavalet ; vente d'objets d'art provenant du musée Carnavalet, Paris, Drouot, 24-29 janvier 1881, n° 193 ; collection Jules-René Olivier (1855-1933), horloger-collectionneur ; legs de sa sœur Marie-Julie Olivier, n° 721 ; comité du 24 janvier 1935 ; conseil du 5 février 1935 ; décret du 4 août 1935
Historical context
Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
Huygens' pendulum and balance spring transform accuracy; English makers develop the anchor and deadbeat escapements.
The balance spring (c. 1675) improved watches dramatically and introduced the minute hand. English pair-cased verge watches with pierced balance cocks and French oignons were typical; enamel painting at Blois and Geneva, and the repeating watch (1680s), made watches objects of great refinement.
Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Renaissance Horology
Atlas type guide
Pocket watches
The pocket watch was the dominant personal timekeeper from the late seventeenth century until the First World War. Its development tracks the history of the escapement: verge watches with fusees until the late eighteenth century; Thomas Mudge's lever escapement (c. 1755) and the cylinder escapement popularised by George Graham and later by Swiss makers; and the Swiss and English lever watches of the nineteenth century. Lépine's bar-bridge calibre and keyless winding made watches thinner and easier to use.
Industrialisation transformed the trade: American factories such as Waltham (from 1850) and Elgin produced interchangeable parts by machine, and Swiss makers responded with their own mechanisation after the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition. By 1900 a reliable watch was affordable to millions; the finest makers continued to produce complications and precision watches.
What to look for
- The escapement: verge (crown wheel), cylinder, duplex, English or Swiss lever.
- Key winding (a square arbor in dial or back) or keyless crown winding.
- Signatures and serial numbers on the movement, dial and inside case back.
- Hallmarks, case maker's marks and gold or silver standards stamped in the case.
- Dial material: enamel, silver, gold, later printed metal.
Dating clues
- Verge watches dominate before c. 1800; cylinder watches c. 1770–1900; lever watches after c. 1820.
- Keyless winding: increasingly common after c. 1860.
- Manufacturer serial number lists exist for Waltham, Elgin, Longines, Omega, Patek Philippe and others.
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.
Read next:Verge escapementDetached lever escapementIdentification Centre
Related records
Pocket Watches · c. 1600
Pocket watch by Hans Reinboldt, France, c. 1600
German Clock Museum
Pocket Watches · 1600
Pocket watch, France, 1600
Rijksmuseum
Pocket Watches · first quarter of 17th century
Watch by Suzanne de Court, France, first quarter of 17th century
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Pocket Watches · early 17th century
Watch of engraved and pierced silver and gilt brass, signed 'Noel Hubert A Rouen', France, early 17th century
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Pocket Watches · 1601–1700
Pocket watch by D Margotin, France, 1601–1700
Science Museum Group, London
Pocket Watches · 1630
Carriage watch with gilt brass case and engraved dial by Nicolas Lemaindre, Blois, 1630
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Pocket Watches · 1640–1660
Watch by Jan Bernardus Vrythoff, France, 1640–1660
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Pocket Watches · 1640–1650
Watch with enamelled gold case depicting Faith, Hope and Charity, made by Nicolas Bernard, Paris, 1640–1650
Victoria and Albert Museum, London