354 - Breguet & Fils - Souscription

Breguet & Fils - Souscription A large Breguet Souscription - sold to "a friend of Monsieur Strok" on 24 Frimaire An 11 (= December 15, 1802) for 600 Francs - with ratchet key Movm. No. 884, Case No. 880, Breguet No. 884B, Dimensions 62 mm, circa 1802, Weight 132 g, Origin Frankreich, Original certificate, Accessories Case: Silver, gold rim, gold hinges and bow, guilloché pattern, reeded caseband, engraved monogram "MM", case maker's punch mark "GM" (Guillaume Mermillod). Dial: Enamel, secret signature below "12". Movm.: Bridge movement, keywind, central barrel, ruby cylinder escapement, three-arm brass balance, blued balance spring with temperature compensation, shock protection-"parachute". "Breguet's Souscription watches" Usually in silver, with the gold rims being the only decoration, the souscription watches were of a large diameter allowing the enamel dial to be divided in such a way that both hours and minutes could be read from a single hand. The movements had a single plate, the spring barrel mounted in the centre and the wheels elegantly positioned and retained by bridges. The single hand was driven directly off the barrel arbor, eliminating the motion work and the intendant friction, and the ruby cylinder escapement was fitted with a parachute (shock protector) and a compensation curb to assist in correcting temperature errors; features that were the norm for all of Breguet's first class watches. To further reduce the selling price, Breguet decided to produce these watches in small series (between 12 and 20 examples at a time), with the buyers paying an account of 25% in advance and the balance on completion. Hence the term: de souscription (by subscription). The success of these watches enabled Breguet to both reestablish his business, which had understandably been badly affected by the French Revolution and his exile in Switzerland, and to finance much of his research into other areas of horology. Case: good, dents, worn. Dial: good, small restaurations. Movm.: very good, capable of running, cleaning recommended.