Breguet

Vintage Breguet N. 2132

 

A few days ago, I have been able to lay my hands on another vintage Breguet movement, which was recased in the 1860s:

All photos courtesy of the seller

A number of things are interesting about it. First and foremost, its size; the case is 41mm in diameter, and the movement about 35mm! This makes the small dial about 15mm across! It used to be a "medallion ? tact" lady's watch, meant to be worn around the neck on a chain. The original case was apparently enamelled, and had a poem painted on it (I am almost kind of glad it is gone, as I would have hated it!!! ). Note that the center post of the watch hands (which is normally used to set the time) is so small in this instance that a separate post had to be provided at 2 o'clock for this purpose.

The movement, though very dirty, is actually in good original shape, is amazingly complete, and runs. It appears that one of the settings screws was moved at a later point in its life (maybe at the time of the recasing, to space them out more evenly on the dial side of the movement), partly obscuring the original, under-the-dial number, which I suspect was then re-engraved on the other side of the movement toghether with the word "BREGUET". It is also possible that all three of the dial-side setting screws were added at a later time, which should be confirmed during the movement's restoration. In any event, the watch perectly matches the description in the Breguet archives, with the correct number, and is thus certainly authentic.

The back of the watch has the "? tact" mechanism, which means that the back of the case could be rotated, and had a fixed hand situated on the outside (probably an arrow of sorts). This was used to tell the time in the dark, by rotating the back of the case clockwise until it stopped against the finger which can be seen at the back of the movement. Unfortunately, the current case does not have the "? tact" feature.

The central barrel, typical of the "Souscription" layouts, also still has the original Breguet-style stopworks, which were the most frequent modification made over time to vintage Breguet movements.

Finally, provenance. This very same watch used to belong to Jean-Claude Sabrier (a number of years ago), and was purchased recently at auction by a friend of his, whom I also know, and who then sold it to me. The movement matches the archives description perfectly, and displays the typical symmetrical elegance which I like so much about vintage Breguet movements...

Now, given its size, here comes the 1M$ question: should I have a Breguet pocket watch replica case made for it, taking inspiration from one of the many "? tact" watches he made (well documented in the various literature), of do something totally off the wall and have a wrist case made for it (without altering the movement in any way, of course!)??? I think it would be quite amazing to be able to gaze at the front of that watch each time one looks at one's wrist... but I am not sure that I would want to subject that movement to wrist-wear.

Cheers,