BREGUET NO. 1176 “MONTRE GARDE-TEMPS À TOURBILLON”. AN EXCEPTIONAL AND
HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT 18K GOLD OPENFACE POCKET CHRONOMETER WITH FOUR
MINUTE TOURBILLON, ÉCHAPPEMENT NATUREL, DOUBLE SUBSIDIARY SECONDS, POWER
RESERVE, STOP-SECONDS FEATURE AND GOLD REGULATOR DIAL
SIGNED BREGUET ET FILS, NO. 1176, CASE NO. 1282, SOLD TO COMTE POTOCKI THROUGH
MONSIEUR MOREAU IN ST. PETERSBURG ON 12 FEBRUARY 1809 FOR THE SUM OF 4,600 FRANCS
Cal. 24’’’ gilded brass movement, semi-elliptical backplate, reverse fusée with maintaining
power, échappement naturel of unusual design with 12-toothed and 3-toothed escape wheels,
the lever with single banking spring allowing even rest on both escape wheels, three arm
bimetallic compensation balance with an oscillation rate of 21,600 vibrations per hour, blued
steel balance spring with terminal curve, all mounted in the two-arm tourbillon cage driven
from the second wheel pinion and revolving once every four minutes, gold cuvette, engineturned
solid gold regulator dial, outer dot minute and Arabic 15 minute divisions, small hour
dial with Roman numerals on plain chapter ring, blued steel Breguet hands, elongated minute
hand, two small subsidiary seconds dials fanking the hour dial, fan-shaped power reserve
sector calibrated for 35 hours, all with engine-turned sunburst decorated sunk centres, large
circular case, hidden hinges, fnely engraved scroll and foliage decorated bezel and rim, back
centred by the engraved arms of Comte Potocki, the tourbillon carriage stopped by a lever
in the bezel, allowing the precise setting of the time, case no. 1282 by Amy Gros, gold dial by
Tavernier signed Breguet et Fils, movement signed Breguet No. 1176
65.5 mm. diam.