Fine French watch with perpetual calendar and moon phase Circa 1924

Absolute rarity sold to Sir Dinshaw Petit
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An absolute rarity this numbered dress watch with perpetual calendar and moon phase, sold in 1924 to Sir Dinshaw Petit for CHF 6.500, with certificate and made by Breguet in Paris, France, circa 1924. The extremely flat open faced, plain, numbered and hallmarked case was crafted from 18 Carat white gold. The silver plated dial features a perpetual calendar, a moon phase dial and has Breguet steel hands. The extremely flat movement features a high quality precision lever escapement.
Dial and movement are signed and carry the same number.
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Diameter: 53 mm
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Weight: 52 g
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Signed: Breguet
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The watch comes with a numbered Breguet certificate and is one of the rarest Breguet pocket watches from the 20^th century. Only a few examples with this complication were built! Sir Dinshaw Petit was an extremely wealthy Indian industrialist. In 1901 he was awarded the British title of Baron. Dinshaw Maneckji Petit was born in Bombay, British India. He attained great wealth through the production of cotton. He had 14 children, his firstborn son, Dinshaw Petit, becoming the second baronet. The extremely interesting history of the family is described in detail in Sheela Reddy’s book “The Marriage that Shook India” .
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Abraham-Louis Breguet (short)

Breguet is a Swiss luxury watch, clock and jewellery manufacturer founded by Abraham-Louis Breguet in Paris in 1775. Since 1999, it has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Swatch Group. Headquartered in L’Abbaye, Switzerland, Breguet is one of the oldest surviving watchmaking brands and a pioneer of numerous watchmaking technologies such as the tourbillon, which was invented by Abraham Breguet in 1801. He also invented and produced the world’s first self winding watch (the Perpétuelle) in 1780, as well as the world’s first wristwatch in 1810 (the Breguet No.2639, for Caroline Bonaparte, Queen of Naples).

Breguet is a highly regarded watch manufacturer. Over the years, notable Breguet patrons and timepiece owners include Emperor of the French Napoléon Bonaparte, King George III, Queen Victoria, Alexandre I of Russia, Ettore Bugatti, Sir Winston Churchill, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Gioachino Rossini, Arthur Rubinstein and so on. The Breguet & Fils, Paris No. 2667 (1814) pocket watch is among the most expensive watches sold at auction, fetching US$ 4,69 million (CHF 4.339.000) in Geneva in May 2012. The Breguet Sympathique Clock No.128 & 5009 (Duc d’Orléans Breguet Sympathique), is currently the most expensive Breguet timepiece ever sold at auction, fetching US$ 6,8 million in New York in December 2012.