Product Releases
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Watch fit for iconic queen to debut in U.S.
October 01, 2009
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| A replica of an 1827 Breguet pocket watch that was first conceived as a gift for the French queen Marie Antoinette will appear in the United States for the first time later this month. |
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Weehawken, N.J.--It was 1783 when an admirer of Marie Antoinette first came up with the idea of creating the most spectacular pocket watch of all time for the iconic French queen.
The timepiece would have it all: gold would be used wherever possible, and the complications would be multiple and varied, reflecting the latest horological advances of the time.
But the queen never had the opportunity to admire the timepiece. It was not completed until 1827, 44 years after it was ordered and 34 years after the queen was executed by guillotine amid the frenzy of the French Revolution. Even the founder of the design was four years in the grave by the time the watch was finished.
Now, a replica of the pocket watch that Breguet calls its "most famous creation" and one of the five most complicated watches in the world will be appearing in the United States for the first time at Breguet Boutique locations in Beverly Hills, Calif., and in New York City.
The timepiece is identical to the original Breguet design of 1827, but the brand was forced to create a replica because, in yet another dramatic twist involving the watch, the original was stolen from a museum in Jerusalem and has been lost for decades.
According to Breguet, the queen was a major fan of the brand's watches and had acquired a number of timepieces, including a perpetual watch embellished with a self-winding device developed by Breguet.
But the extreme complexity of the Marie Antoinette No. 1160 pocket watch, its roots and its story, have been a point of fascination for centuries, and in 2005, Nicolas Hayek, president and chief executive officer of Montres Breguet, decided to produce an exact replica. Reproducing and designing such a large number of complications using only historical documents was no easy task for the watchmakers at Montres Breguet.
In the coachwork of the watch, for example, the yellow gold of the 63-millimeter case was cast in a special, more coppery alloy that was designed to match the hue common in the period the watch was first conceived. The glasses for the dial and the case are made of rock crystal, displaying the finery of the movement and the marvels of its finish.
Like its predecessor, the Marie Antoinette No. 1160 includes the following complications:
- A self-winding watch with a minute-repeater striking the hours, quarters and minutes on demand.
- A full perpetual calendar that displays the dates, the day and the months respectively at 2 o'clock, 6 o'clock and 8 o'clock.
- The equation of time at 10 o'clock proclaims the daily difference between solar time and the mean time provided by watches.
- In the center, the jumping hours--invented by Breguet--and the minutes are joined by a long, independent, seconds hand, while the small seconds are shown at 6 o'clock.
- The 48-hour power-reserve-indicator at 10:30 balances a bimetallic thermometer at 01:30.
The self-winding perpetual movement comprises 823 finished components and is finished by hand. The baseplates and bridges, the smallest gear-wheels in the trains for the under-dial work, the dates and the repeater are all fashioned in pink gold polished with wood. The screws are in polished blue steel, while the points of friction, holes and bearings are set with sapphires.
The mechanism is furthermore fitted with a particular type of natural-lift escapement, a helical balance-spring in gold and a bimetallic balance-wheel. The anti-shock device--a double pare chute that is another Breguet invention--protects against blows and shocks to the balance staff and to the shafts of the winding weights.
The timepiece will be on display at Breguet's Beverly Hills, Calif., location on 280 N. Rodeo Drive from Oct. 14-16, with viewing hours from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. the first day, and from 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. the two subsequent days. The timepiece will then be on display at Breguet's New York City location at 779 Madison Ave. from Oct. 19-21, with viewing hours from 2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. the first day, and from 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. the two subsequent days.
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