Sotheby’s And Breguet Announce A 250th Anniversary Mega-Auction For November
Sotheby’s is calling it the largest thematic auction of Breguet timepieces in over 30 years.
This is a big year for a number of watch brand anniversaries and one of the biggest is Breguet, which is celebrating 250 years in business. In 1775 Abraham Louis Breguet established his workshop on the Quai de l’Horloge, on the Île de la Cité, in the center of Paris, at the age of 28. Since then the brand has passed through several hands – after Breguet’s great-grandson, Louis-Antoine, passed away in 1882 his workshop manager, the Englishman Edward Brown, became owner and the Brown company owned Breguet until 1970, when the company was purchased by the Parisian jeweler Chaumet (it was during Chaumet’s ownership that Daniel Roth worked with the brand to establish its modern design language). Investcorp acquired Breguet in 1987, and finally, Breguet was purchased by Swatch Group in 1999.
Nicolas G. Hayek was fascinated by the history of Breguet, and one of his most ambitious projects was the creation of an exact replica of Breguet no. 160, better known as the “Marie Antoinette” for whom it had been intended as a gift. In 2005, Hayek heard that one of the queen’s favorite oak trees at her private estate, the Petite Trianon, which had been badly damaged by wind storms, was about to be cut down, and he requested some of the wood for the box of the replica, no. 1160 (which is currently on display at the London Science Museum until April 21). The connection turned into Swatch Group’s grant of over $7 million for the renovation of the Petite Trianon, which reopened to the public in 2008.
A descendant of Abraham Louis Breguet, Emmanuel Breguet, has for many years been Heritage Director for the company; he has been named as co-curator of the upcoming auction. One of the pieces already slated for inclusion in the auction is a Breguet completed in 1827 for King George IV of England.
The King, a major Breguet client, was also the owner of a Breguet “sympathique” clock, as well as Breguet no. 2788, one of three known watches constructed on the resonance principle, which would eventually be rediscovered by F.P. Journe.
Daryn Schnipper, director emeritus of watches at Sotheby’s, says, “It is our honor and privilege to curate a special sale in celebration of the brand’s 250th anniversary. Abraham Louis Breguet is perhaps the greatest watchmaker of them all – he profoundly influenced the course of horological history and laid the foundations of contemporary watchmaking.” Breguet’s CEO Gregory Kissling adds, “This auction is not just a moment of transition, but a heartfelt celebration of our shared passion for the art of watchmaking, and more specifically, the art of Breguet – a timeless legacy of innovation and elegance.”
For more information, and to consign watches for the auction, visit Sothebys.com.
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