Rare Swiss silver twin barrel chronometer watch Circa 1829

Silver watch with Earnshaw-type escapement by Breguet et Fils
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A Swiss Guarde Temps silver open faced twin-barrel chronometer watch with Earnshaw-type escapement, circa 1826–1829. The watch features a key wound movement with a twin barrel and an Earnshaw-type escapement. The silvered dial displays Roman numerals for the hours on the lower subsidiary dial, Arabic numerals for the seconds on the upper subsidiary dial, and spade hands. The plain silver case has a hinged back and cuvette, and the case and dial are signed. It also comes with a Breguet certificate.
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Diameter: 67 mm
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Signed: Breguet et Fils
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This Breguet, numbered 663, was manufactured between 1826 and 1829. According to the archives, the watch was never sold to a client, and it remained in the manufacturer’s stock until 1859 when it was sold for 491 francs to balance their books.
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Breguet was appointed as the “Horloger de la Marine Royale” in 1815, filling a position that had been vacant since the death of Louis Berthoud two years earlier. Although Breguet had experimented with pocket chronometers as early as 1789, it was after Breguet’s son, Antoine-Louis (1776–1858), was taken into partnership in 1801 that the development of the firm’s chronometers began in earnest. Abraham-Louis Breguet felt that there was an inherent flaw with the fusee and chain system and developed his going-barrel form of chronometer movement. This system was developed based on the principle of two going barrels, as exemplified by this particular watch. The present lot also demonstrates how Breguet’s parachute protection device was incorporated into some of the firm’s chronometer watches to protect the balance pivot—an especially useful feature for a precision timekeeper intended for use at sea.