Rare and early French eight-day double boxed chronometer Circa 1815

Gilt-brass eight-day marine chronometer in mahogany boxes by Breguet
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A rare and early French gilt-brass and mahogany eight-day double boxed marine chronometer with twin barrels, circa 1815. Sold to first captain Charles Baudin for 2’000 Francs. Openwork brass movement, detente escapement. Matte silvered dial with Arabic hours and outer minute divisions, subsidiary seconds at 6. Comes in an inner mahogany box with spring arms, the outer box with a rectangular gimbal, sliding aperture. Dial and case signed and numbered. Comes with a certificate and numbered key.
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Dimensions outer box: 30.5 x 29.2 x 29.2 cm
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Dimensions inner box: 16.5 x 16.5 x 11 cm
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Signed: Breguet et Fils N. 104
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Breguet’s earliest marine chronometers are numbered 104 (this piece), 105, and 106. Until the present example was discovered, No. 106 was thought to be the only survivor. Numbers 104 and 105 were originally sold in respectively 1817 and 1818, for 2000 Francs, whereas 106 was sold in 1816, despite the numbering sequence.
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Work on the chronometers was believed to have started prior to Breguet’s exile to Switzerland in 1793. The box of 104 differs in construction from the other examined early chronometer, 106, which is more in kind with the work of English watchmaker John Arnold. Indeed, like many of Arnold’s marine chronometers, 106 is housed in an octagonal mahogany box. The present watch, 104, is in a large, double mahogany box with rectangular gimbals, and is more like Breguet’s pieces finished later. Nevertheless, the movements of both chronometers are strikingly similar and still retain strong influence from Arnold. The balance echoes those constructed by Ferdinand Berthoud, with four arms and semicircular weights secured by what appear to be gold and platinum screws. It can be presumed that as this chronometer was sold later, the box was likely finished later, and with more experimentation from Breguet himself and therefore not in an octagonal box similar to Arnold’s style.
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In 1815, Breguet received the title of Horologer de La Marine. Shortly thereafter, he sold No. 106, and shortly thereafter 104 and 105. From 1818, Breguet’s production of marine chronometers was well underway.