Rare French 18K gold Montre de Souscription Circa 1805

Open faced pocket watch by Breguet
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A rare French Montre de Souscription one-handed pocket watch with virgule escapement, circa 1805.
18-Carat gold engine-turned case, with a reeded band, signed gold dome and case maker punch mark LC. White enamel dial with Arabic Breguet numerals and single blued steel Breguet hand. Bridge movement, frosted, gilt, central barrel, virgule escapement, three-arm brass balance.
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Diameter: 62 mm
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Weight: 148 g
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Signed: Breguet & fils
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Montre à Souscription
This type of pocket watch was launched in 1796 by Abraham-Louis Breguet. The idea was to manufacture watches on pre-order (Souscription = subscription = pre-order) combined with a down payment in small series of up to 20 pieces. The manufacturing costs should thereby be reduced. The clocks were structurally simplified; for example, there was a model with a pointer and only four gears. The different models cost between 600 and 1000 FF. Despite this low price, they were high quality, robust and relatively accurate. They were a little big and had asymmetrical movement by the Lépine calibre with a large, central barrel, Ruby cylinder escapement, shock protection and temperature compensation on the coil spring. Breguet made about 1,500 Souscriptions.
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Forgeries of A. L. Breguet watches Breguet was the best and the most renowned watchmaker of his time. He was also a most sought-after victim of counterfeiting, which made him create a secret signature to distinguish his original works from the forgeries. Many counterfeit watches with Breguet’s forged signature were produced during his lifetime and even after his death. Most of these watches were of poor quality or not even of a type ever produced by Breguet. Fakes often appear to be of genuine Breguet origin, but to the eyes of a connoisseur, the quality and technical details make the forgery glaringly obvious. However, this is an exceptionally rare watch of very high quality, even if Breguet did not make it.