Swiss silver a toc quarter repeating pocket watch Circa 1813

Silver open faced repeating pocket watch
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A Swiss silver open faced pocket watch with bridge movement and a toc quarter repeating mechanism, made by Breguet & Fils, circa 1813. This watch features a gilt brass bridge movement with a cylinder escapement, a three armed balance with antishock suspension, a blued steel balance spring, and a toc quarter repeater on the pendant with a steel hammer. The white enamel dial, which has hairlines, displays painted Breguet numerals, an outer minute track, blued steel Breguet hands, and a secret signature below 12 o’clock reading No 2357, Breguet. The lower section of the dial is marked Breguet & Fils at 6 o’clock. A single screw secures the dial. The case is plain silver.
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Diameter: 49 mm
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Weight: 90.5 g
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Signed: Breguet & Fils
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According to the Breguet Archives, the watch was sent to the Queen of Naples on June 8, 1813, for 2,000 francs. Only the dial and movement are original, as the watch was first housed in a gold case. It has since been recased in the current silver case outside Maison Breguet.
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A similar watch in its original form, no. 2327, delivered to the Queen of Naples on January 24, 1814, was sold at Habsburg-Antiquorum, The Art of Breguet, Geneva, April 14, 1991, lot 50 (illustrated). Caroline Bonaparte (1782–1839), Queen of Naples and younger sister of Emperor Napoleon I, was one of A.-L. Breguet’s most important clients from 1807, acquiring 34 clocks and watches between 1808 and 1814, as well as numerous more modest pieces given as gifts, from which the present watch may originate. It was for one of her commissions, and thanks to their close relationship, that Breguet created in 1810 the first wristwatch (Breguet no. 2639), a revolutionary concept at the time. The Queen of Naples thus gave her name to the now iconic feminine Reine de Naples line, still produced today and renowned for its distinctive oblong shape.