In the recent Christie's auction there were several Breguet(previously mentioned), as in made by A.L. Breguet the man not the brand, watches for sale, including 2 grand complications. Both had been bought originally by various European nobility and passed down in private hands for more than 150 years.
The first is Breguet No. 2667, originally sold in 1814, has 2 independent timekeeping movements, the one on the right driving the main sweep-second hand. In a yellow-gold case it sold for $4,680,120, the current record price for a Breguet watch at auction.
The second piece, number 4111, is a half-quarter* repeating watch with an equation of time indication, power-reserve and complete annual calendar, originally sold in 1827. It hammered at $2,750,760.
Both watches were bought by Breguet, the modern brand, probably to be part of their museum collection in Paris.
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* Repeating watches are described by the accuracy of their chimes. An hour repeater only chimes the nearest hour, a quarter repeater chimes the hour and the number of quarter-hours past (so 11:35 would chime 11:2, 11:45 being 11:3). A half-quarter was a "cheaper than a minute repeater" design of the 19th century that chimed the number of 7.5 minute increments past the hour, so 11:35 would be 11:4 and 11:38 would 11:5.
The first is Breguet No. 2667, originally sold in 1814, has 2 independent timekeeping movements, the one on the right driving the main sweep-second hand. In a yellow-gold case it sold for $4,680,120, the current record price for a Breguet watch at auction.
The second piece, number 4111, is a half-quarter* repeating watch with an equation of time indication, power-reserve and complete annual calendar, originally sold in 1827. It hammered at $2,750,760.
Both watches were bought by Breguet, the modern brand, probably to be part of their museum collection in Paris.
A
* Repeating watches are described by the accuracy of their chimes. An hour repeater only chimes the nearest hour, a quarter repeater chimes the hour and the number of quarter-hours past (so 11:35 would chime 11:2, 11:45 being 11:3). A half-quarter was a "cheaper than a minute repeater" design of the 19th century that chimed the number of 7.5 minute increments past the hour, so 11:35 would be 11:4 and 11:38 would 11:5.
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