Breguet 1297 'Whirling About Regulator': A King's Tourbillon

gadalex · 2020-07-12T03:34:03Z

Explore the historic Breguet 1297 'Whirling About Regulator' tourbillon pocket watch, originally for King George III. Gadalex shares insights on its design and legacy.

gadalex

WPS member · Breguet forum

27 replies5176 views11 photos

Gadalex offers a rare glimpse into horological history, sharing his personal experience with the Breguet 1297 'Whirling About Regulator' tourbillon pocket watch. This piece, originally sold to King George III in 1808, represents one of Breguet's earliest commercially available tourbillons. Gadalex's reflections on its purity and original intent provide a compelling counterpoint to modern tourbillon complexities, inviting readers to appreciate the foundational brilliance of this iconic complication.

Whilst Sotheby's sold a probably unique, modern Rolex Daytona, for a King's ransom in their Hong Kong sale over the weekend, I managed a couple of hours at the preview of their London sale on Bond Street aiming to see some remarkable pieces of horology from two centuries ago.

The West End is still eerily quiet and fortunately (at least for me) there were no other members of the public at the gallery allowing me free reign over the exceptional sale items coming up on the 14th of this month (I recommend a peruse through the catalogue).

The star lot (possibly of the whole auction season), lot 28, is the watch featured below: a unique 4-minute tourbillon manufactured by Breguet and sold to the King of England in 1808 via the retailer Recordon. It is not necessary for me to elucidate on the history of this watch as this can be read at length on the Sotheby's website and has been penned expertly by Alex Barter, former head of watches in London for the auction house and now a consultant for them.

However, from a personal perspective, as someone who has been fortunate enough to visit the Salomons collection in Jerusalem and seen the Marie Antoinette (ref.160) twice, this represented a truly privileged opportunity to handle the work of possibly the most inventive horologist to have lived. And not just any work: one of the first commercially available tourbillon watches.

I have read various discussions recently about the position of the tourbillon in modern watchmaking and why it still exists and proliferates at an ever increasing pace whilst at the same time increasing in complexity and outrageousness. Fundamentally though, the most basic and straightforward expression of an original idea is sometimes the most beautiful even if it does not appear to excite in the same fashion as the same idea expressed many years later with the advent of new technologies and creativity.

For me, the expression of the original tourbillon resonates because of its purity, its rudmimentary, not quite perfect mechanical form, because it was conceived as a solution rather than entertainment and also because as a pocket watch, it performed its magic discreetly without pretension. I believe, that even today, it contains everything one could hope for in a portable timepiece.

Whilst there, i did photograph some other lots, but I will perhaps save that for another post.

Regards to all and stay safe,

Baruch

(Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Sotheby's)

Key Points from the Discussion

The hope is that Breguet itself acquires this historically significant timepiece for its collection, ensuring its preservation and accessibility for future generations of enthusiasts and scholars.
The term 'Whirling about regulator' is a direct translation of the French 'Régulateur à tourbillon'. The 'common seconds' refers to the running seconds, while 'seconds for observation' functions as a 60-second chronograph.
The original author intentionally directed readers to the Sotheby's website for in-depth historical and technical details, preferring to share his personal experience and insights rather than replicate extensive information already available.

The Discussion

ZSHSZ

Jul 12, 2020

Fantastic photos as well! Thank you for the great presentation.

countzero

Jul 12, 2020

Thanks for the post and the detailed photos!

George Gently

Jul 12, 2020

Thank you Very much, Baruch, for this interesting write-up and for the pictures. Regards, George

halgedahl

Jul 12, 2020

For the life of me I con't figure out the difference between "common seconds'' and those "…for observation." Obviously I have a great deal, still to learn about watchmaking, but would you be so kind as to educate me on this difference. Is one "whirling about" in the manner of a foudroyante? Or??? In any case, great thanks for offering us all a chance to see this marvel. FH

gadalex

Jul 12, 2020

Some further context. 'Whirling about regulator' is a translation of the French 'Ragulateur à tourbillon' as found on the cartouche of a similar watch. The common seconds is the running seconds and the 'seconds for observation' is essentially a 60 seconds chronograph. Please visit the Sotheby's website when you have a chance to read more about the watch. You won't regret it! Baruch

Mike H

Jul 12, 2020

...for the time you spent on this great presentation and the beautiful numerous pics you took of this awesome granny.

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Breguet 1297 'Whirling About Regulator': A King's Tourbillon

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