Breguet 18ct Pink Gold ‘Trois Couleurs’, Gold Guilloche Dial, c1910

Breguet

Breguet is the name of the most important inventor in horology and provider of timekeeping, fit for Kings, Queens and Emperors. In 1783, one of Marie Antoinette’s guards and secret admirers devised a way to make her fall in love with him. He had no doubt noticed the queen’s obsession with Abraham-Louis Breguet’s watches, of which she owned several, so he reached out to the watchmaker with a brief. Well, not so much a brief, more as a plea for the legendary watchmaker to make something so spectacular it would win the affections of the queen. The forlorn lover had the right idea: Breguet eventually delivered the most complicated watch in existence at the time, built with many of his original inventions, including the perpetual calendar, minute repeater and equation of time.

So accomplished did Abraham-Louis Breguet become, he is popularly regarded by watch historians as the Leonardo da Vinci of horology…

Description

The Breguet we see in major city stores today was effectively re-born in 1970 when the brand was acquired by the Chaumet brothers and moved to Vallée de Joux to re-launch its Classic line of watches. Such is the importance and scarcity of earlier Breguet watches, these are now almost impossible to find outside of museums.

The example you see here is amazingly rare and very special. Made in 18ct pink gold, with yellow and white gold filigree and a stunning, original unrestored Guilloche dial with Breguet numerals.

The Case

The solid 18ct pink gold case measures 28mm in diameter, excluding the crown. It is beautifully decorated with fine yellow and white gold filigree work around the bezel. Opening the first hinged case-back reveals it is signed ‘Breguet’ with the serial number 4633. The second hinged case-back reveals the movement. Both case-backs and hinges are in superb condition. The case has two case-backs to provide extra security to the movement and increased dust and moisture protection. The case-backs each click open and closed very securely and the integrity of the hinges is excellent. Inside the outer case-back we find a hallmark and the FB signature, along with the reference number 68558. The outer case-back carries a beautifully ornate BD script, presumably the initials of the first owner from new. This could be removed, but we feel this would lose some of the originality of the watch and it would not add to its value.

As you will see, the bezel is also hinged, opening to reveal the dial in all its original splendour. This also clicks open and closed very securely and the integrity of the hinge is excellent.

As we would expect, the case is of extremely high quality. It is of very solid construction and is quite heavy for such a small watch. There is no damage at all, visible to the naked eye.

As ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Dial

The solid gold dial carries ‘1 – 12’ Breguet numerals and carries a Guilloche finish which catches the light beautifully.

The dial is completely original and untouched and although it has been affected by a little staining, it is otherwise perfect. This is remarkable for such an old dial and it is far too good to restore. We have therefore left it completely alone to retain its character and originality.

Breguet style numerals are so evocative of early wristwatches, as not only do they look wonderful, but they were created by Breguet, the most influential early watchmaker. It has been very hard to capture the full effect with the camera but suffice to say it looks much better in real life. However please take a close look at photograph 2 as this is the most representative.

The dial carries the original beautifully ornate blued steel ‘Moon’ hands which have been restored.

Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we offer for sale but here, for the sake of originality and charm, the dial has been left completely alone.

The Movement

The classic hand-wound movement is gold-plated with a large balance wheel and assembled with blued steel screws. It exquisitely designed with six bridges and 17 jewels. We believe this to be an early Jaeger-LeCoultre movement, which is quite normal as Jaeger-LeCoultre provided movements to many of the top watch manufacturers at this time. It is unsigned, which again was quite normal for this period.

The movement has been fully overhauled and serviced by our early vintage movement specialist watchmaker who reports it to be in excellent condition, therefore we are more than happy to offer this watch with our 12 months’ warranty*. Although watches of this period have movements which are relatively accurate and reliable, these watches do need to be treated with extra care, so while perfect for special occasions, we would not recommend this watch for everyday use.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only included if the list price is paid.

Strap & Buckle

A new high quality, black Lizard strap has been fitted. Please note, we feel this strap matches the watch nicely, however, if a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown and black in stock in plain padded leather, and crocodile skin or lizard skin. However, we can also obtain most types and colours at short notice.

The Box and Papers

Although there is no original paperwork with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks indicate the date of this watch to circa 1910.

Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

This watch comes complete with the vintage watch box, as shown.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.

In Conclusion

A rare, ladies occasional evening wear dress watch from Breguet, one of horology’s most important names, which is a thing of beauty to use, treasure, and enjoy! It will make an excellent investment or family heirloom piece and as each year goes by and the world market for vintage watches continues to expand, the value of this watch is sure to climb ever higher!

A word about our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring these to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post sales care and service. This approach inevitably means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are a number of well-known stores in West London which are very successful, charging between two to three times the price you see here. We therefore consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.

We are happy to accept PayPal as this is the quickest method of payment. However, if you would like to pay by UK cheque or by UK bank transfer we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and unfortunately out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges, however attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those that happen to visit the UK on occasion we are of course more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and your watch directly to you there.

If you have any questions, please call our landline on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.

We await your call! We will be happy to answer any questions and offer advice about this or any of our watches listed for sale. If you would like some general advice regarding any aspect of vintage watches, including buying, selling, or collecting, we will be very happy to hear from you.

Finally, please enjoy some time spent viewing our other fine vintage gold watches!