193 Breguet Refined and Esteemed, Chronoscope, Jumping and Wandering Hour, Openface Dress Pocket Watch in Silver, With Service

Estimate: €12,500 –⁠ 25,000

Model: Chronoscope
Case Material: Silver
Year: 1920's
Movement: Manual
Case N°: 1752
Movement N°: 1752
Dimensions: 43 mm
Signed: Dial, Case and Movement
Accessories: Service

The “heures sautantes” watch offered here for sale is a very fine specimen of this epitome of Art Deco style, made by Breguet from around 1927 until 1945 both as a pocket and as a wristwatch, the system patented by the Swiss watchmaker Robert Cart around 1925. A superb 43 mm pocket watch, made during the peak years of Breguet’s Art Deco period, this model is also known as “Chronoscope”, a name derived from the Greek words “chronos” for time and “scope” for range or sector. It stands for an instrument for accurate measurements of small intervals of time. The silver case is very finely preserved in all its classical simplicity. The two-tone silvered dial is beautifully decorated with a large and very distinctive engine-turned arrow pointing to the outer Arabic minute ring. The mechanism is powered by a lever movement with a bimetallic compensation balance, signed by Breguet. The central disc, on which the jumping hours are displayed, also acts as a minute indicator and makes a full rotation every 60 minutes. Vacheron Constantin and Gübelin also purchased the jumping and wandering module, but this example from Breguet is one of the finest examples we’ve seen in recent years.