Swiss silver and gold split-seconds lever chronograph Circa 1924

Split-seconds chronograph chronometer by Breguet
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A Swiss silver and gold open faced split-seconds chronograph keyless lever chronometer watch, circa 1924. Sold on 16 January 1924 to Count Max de Pourtalés for 2,000 Francs. Gilt finished fully jewelled lever movement stamped with the viper’s head, bimetallic compensation balance with gold poising screws. Gold cuvette. White enamel dial with Arabic numerals, two vertical subsidiary dials indicating 60 minutes register and constant seconds, blued steel spade hands. Heavy case with ribbed band, the split-seconds chronograph mechanism operated through an oval button in the band and through the crown. Case and cuvette with matching numbers, cuvette and dial signed and numbered. Comes with the original presentation box.
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Diameter: 55 mm
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Signed: Breguet 4330
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A superb example of timepieces made by the workshops of Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823) and his successors, widely acknowledged for having set the standard by which all fine watchmaking has been judged ever since. He was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, but it was in Paris that he spent most of his productive life. No aspect of watchmaking escaped his study, and his inventions were as fundamental to horology as they were varied. His career started with a series of breakthroughs: the development of the successful self-winding perpétuelle watches, the introduction of the gongs for repeating watches and the first shock-protection for balance pivots. Louis XVI and his Queen, Marie-Antoinette, were early enthusiasts of Breguet’s watchmaking. Each watch from his workshops demonstrated the latest horological improvements in an original movement, mostly fitted with lever or ruby cylinder escapements that he perfected. Breguet took refuge in Switzerland from the excesses of the French Revolution. He returned to Paris overflowing with the ideas that produced the Breguet balance spring, his first carriage clock (sold to Bonaparte), the ‘sympathique’ clock and its dependent watch, the tact watch, and finally the tourbillon, patented in 1801. Breguet became the indispensable watchmaker to the scientific, military, financial and diplomatic elites of the age. His timepieces ruled the courts of Europe. For his most celebrated clients, Breguet designed exceptional timepieces. For Caroline Murat, queen of Naples, he conceived in 1810 the world’s very first wristwatch. Honours saluted his enormous contribution to horology. Appointed to the Board of Longitude and as chronometer maker to the navy, he entered the Academy of Sciences and received the Legion of Honour from the hands of Louis XVIII. When he died in 1823, all mourned the architect of the greatest revolution in the science and art of time-keeping.