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Lot Essay
A feature found in a number of Breguet's repeaters is the jump hour. The hour hand remains stationary until about three minutes before the hour, at which point it begins to move. By the time it is halfway to the next hour, the minute hand will have reached the hour, prompting the hour hand to jump the remaining distance. Mechanically, this functions because the traditional motion works for the hands are omitted, and the hour hand is mounted on a wheel that is directly geared to another wheel on the hour snail's star wheel. Since the hour hand is driven by it, the hand jumps with the star wheel to each successive hour.
Breguet’s method of winding the repeating train using the pull-twist-push piston was his own invention. It can be found either in the pendant, as in the present watch, or in the case band. It was very expensive to produce and was primarily designed to give the watch a cleaner, more refined appearance.
Breguet used the cylinder escapement throughout his life. Although it is a frictional rest escapement, his version was far superior. The first cylinder escapements, made by English watchmakers, were only marginally more accurate than the verge escapement. This was because the diameter of the cylinder was too large in relation to the diameter of the balance, resulting in energy loss due to friction. To reduce this friction, English watchmakers - who were highly skilled in the art of jeweling—created a half-section ruby cylinder. The ruby was mounted in a steel frame, and this was the form of cylinder escapement first used by Breguet.
By around 1795, Breguet had developed it into the now-familiar ‘overhanging’ ruby cylinder. These escapements performed so well and with such consistent rates that temperature errors, previously masked by poor overall performance, now required correction. For this reason, Breguet’s ruby cylinder escapements often featured a compensation curb fitted to the balance.
Breguet’s method of winding the repeating train using the pull-twist-push piston was his own invention. It can be found either in the pendant, as in the present watch, or in the case band. It was very expensive to produce and was primarily designed to give the watch a cleaner, more refined appearance.
Breguet used the cylinder escapement throughout his life. Although it is a frictional rest escapement, his version was far superior. The first cylinder escapements, made by English watchmakers, were only marginally more accurate than the verge escapement. This was because the diameter of the cylinder was too large in relation to the diameter of the balance, resulting in energy loss due to friction. To reduce this friction, English watchmakers - who were highly skilled in the art of jeweling—created a half-section ruby cylinder. The ruby was mounted in a steel frame, and this was the form of cylinder escapement first used by Breguet.
By around 1795, Breguet had developed it into the now-familiar ‘overhanging’ ruby cylinder. These escapements performed so well and with such consistent rates that temperature errors, previously masked by poor overall performance, now required correction. For this reason, Breguet’s ruby cylinder escapements often featured a compensation curb fitted to the balance.