The history that you are about to read is worthy of a best seller, we decided to divided in two parts, here is the first.
2005… Nicolas G. Hayek decided to challenge himself to precisely reproduce the Queen Marie-Antoinette watch, stolen in 1983 from a Jerusalem museum. Simultaneously, near the Queen’s residence at Versailles, Le Petit Trianon, the favorite oak tree where she liked to daydream was about to be struck down. Nicolas G. Hayek decided to extend its life by fashioning a presentation case to hold the second Marie Antoinette watch. Versailles offered the tree to Montres Breguet, who committed to the restoration of Le Petit Trianon in memory of this particularly loyal patron.
As the watch neared completion late 2007, the spoils of the 1983 robbery suddenly reappeared in Jerusalem and the original Marie-Antoinette was part of the recovered lot. The saga continues. Montres Breguet has yet not had the opportunity to inspect the watch to this date. Presented at Basel 2008, the Queen of all watches reveals a host of complications. Research in the archives and study of original drawings from the Breguet museum and from other key institutions like the museum des Art et Metiers in Paris were the only available sources of information available to complete the formidable task.
1783… Marie Antoinette was a truly passionate of the Breguet watches, she acquired number of timepieces including a Perpétuel watch embellished with a self winding device developed by Breguet.
In 1783 one of Marie Antoinette admirers ordered form the workshops in the Quai de L`Horloge, the most spectacular watch possible, incorporating the entire body of the horological science of the time, as a gift to the queen. The order specified that gold should, wherever possible, be used instead of other materials, and the complications should be multiple and varied. Unconstrained by limitations of cost or time, Breguet had a free hand.
The queen never had the opportunity to admire the timepiece. It was not completed until 1827, 34 years after her death, 44 after it was ordered and 4 years after the death of the founder. Breguet No 160 known as the Marie Antoinette, entered into watchmaking legend from 1783. Its extreme complexity, its roots and legend, had haunted the watchmaking landscape and the minds of collectors for more than two centuries. More recently, its destiny shrouded in mystery, stolen from a Jerusalem museum and lost for decades, has written a new page in the saga.
Presented in Basel 2008 the queen of watches reveals a host of complications, research among the archives and original drawings from the Breguet museum and from the high institutions of culture like The Musée des Arts et Métiers (arts and crafts museum) in Paris, are the only available sources of information.
Reproducing and designing such a large number of complications on the sole basis of documents is against the odds and reveals the talent of the watchmakers at Montres Breguet. Each function and every decorative feature was minutely analyzed. In the coachwork of the the watch for example, the yellow gold of the 63mm diameter case was cast in special, more coppery alloy in order to match the period Hue. The glasses for the dial and the case, made of rock crystal, allow the movement to display its finery and the marvels of its finish. The research has moreover brought to light a complication of the original watch: jumping hours.
As a self winding watch with a minute repeater sticking hours, quarters and minutes on demand, the new Marie Antoinette has all the makings of a work of art. A full perpetual calendar 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 proclaiming the daily difference between the solar and the mean time. In the center the jumping hours invented by Breguet and the minute 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 1:30.
The self-winding Perpétuel contains 823 components, The baseplates and bridges, the smallest gears-wheels in the trains for the under dial work, the dates and the repeater are fashioned in pink gold polished with wood. The screws are in polished blue steel; the points of friction, holes and bearings, set with sapphires. The smallest details demonstrate perfect execution and have been finished by hand. This masterly and unprecedented 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, another Breguet invention, gives protection against blows and shocks the balance staff to the shafts of the winding weights.
This masterpiece fits for a queen rests in a precious presentati box made out of more than 3500 pieces sculpted from the wood of the Royal Oak. It encloses a lavishly crafted inlay work of more than a thousand pieces of wood depicting the hand of Marie Antoinette holding her rose, a detail inspired by the famous portrait of the queen. The outside of the box faithfully reproduces the parquet flooring of the Petit Trianon.
As the watch neared completion late 2007, the spoils of the 1983 robbery suddenly reappeared in Jerusalem and the original Marie-Antoinette was part of the recovered lot. The saga continues. Montres Breguet has yet not had the opportunity to inspect the watch to this date. Presented at Basel 2008, the Queen of all watches reveals a host of complications. Research in the archives and study of original drawings from the Breguet museum and from other key institutions like the museum des Art et Metiers in Paris were the only available sources of information available to complete the formidable task.
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