BREGUET ET FILS No. 3056: A rare and historically important early two-day marine chronometer circa 1818, the matt-silvered dial signed Breguet et fils Hgers de la Marine Rle.No.3056 with eccentric Roman and Arabic chapter ring with blued hands beneath the incised letter R, the seconds ring with 10-minute intermarkers with two separate seconds hands, one directly above the other, the lower of blued steel, the upper of gold, both rotated by the fourth wheel, but the lower with a stop/start - Arret March assembly operated via two push-pieces situated on the outside of the bowl (atVI), the movement numbered behind the dial 3056, the train, with the exception of the escape wheel, planted behind the dial, twin barrels wound through the dial, Earnshaw escapement, Breguet's form of Earnshaw spring detent with the gold passing spring in compression, cut bi-metallic balance oversprung with blued steel helical balance spring, small-size circular heat compensation weights, brass bowl, circular gimbal ring with chamfering to top edge, bowl and gimbal locked by a rise-and-fall assembly between the bottom outside of the bowl and the bottom inside of the box operated with a separate key, two-tier mahogany box with ebony quarter-round edging, the bottom with double-throw lock and external drop handles and vertical screws set in sides enabling the whole box to be secured to the chart table, the top with slide cover to observation port; with Breguet certificate of authentication and Ovservatory correspondence relating to the longitude of Hamburg98mm. dial diam.182mm.sq. the box (2)

Various Properties

BREGUET ET FILS No. 3056: A rare and historically important early two-day marine chronometer circa 1818, the matt-silvered dial signed Breguet et fils Hgers de la Marine Rle.No.3056 with eccentric Roman and Arabic chapter ring with blued hands beneath the incised letter R, the seconds ring with 10-minute intermarkers with two separate seconds hands, one directly above the other, the lower of blued steel, the upper of gold, both rotated by the fourth wheel, but the lower with a stop/start - Arret March assembly operated via two push-pieces situated on the outside of the bowl (atVI), the movement numbered behind the dial 3056, the train, with the exception of the escape wheel, planted behind the dial, twin barrels wound through the dial, Earnshaw escapement, Breguet's form of Earnshaw spring detent with the gold passing spring in compression, cut bi-metallic balance oversprung with blued steel helical balance spring, small-size circular heat compensation weights, brass bowl, circular gimbal ring with chamfering to top edge, bowl and gimbal locked by a rise-and-fall assembly between the bottom outside of the bowl and the bottom inside of the box operated with a separate key, two-tier mahogany box with ebony quarter-round edging, the bottom with double-throw lock and external drop handles and vertical screws set in sides enabling the whole box to be secured to the chart table, the top with slide cover to observation port; with Breguet certificate of authentication and Ovservatory correspondence relating to the longitude of Hamburg 98mm. dial diam. 182mm.sq. the box (2)

Details

BREGUET ET FILS No. 3056: A rare and historically important early two-day marine chronometer circa 1818, the matt-silvered dial signed Breguet et fils Hgers de la Marine Rle.No.3056 with eccentric Roman and Arabic chapter ring with blued hands beneath the incised letter R, the seconds ring with 10-minute intermarkers with two separate seconds hands, one directly above the other, the lower of blued steel, the upper of gold, both rotated by the fourth wheel, but the lower with a stop/start - Arret March assembly operated via two push-pieces situated on the outside of the bowl (atVI), the movement numbered behind the dial 3056, the train, with the exception of the escape wheel, planted behind the dial, twin barrels wound through the dial, Earnshaw escapement, Breguet's form of Earnshaw spring detent with the gold passing spring in compression, cut bi-metallic balance oversprung with blued steel helical balance spring, small-size circular heat compensation weights, brass bowl, circular gimbal ring with chamfering to top edge, bowl and gimbal locked by a rise-and-fall assembly between the bottom outside of the bowl and the bottom inside of the box operated with a separate key, two-tier mahogany box with ebony quarter-round edging, the bottom with double-throw lock and external drop handles and vertical screws set in sides enabling the whole box to be secured to the chart table, the top with slide cover to observation port; with Breguet certificate of authentication and Ovservatory correspondence relating to the longitude of Hamburg
98mm. dial diam.
182mm.sq. the box (2)

Provenance

Originally supplied on March 24 1818 to a M. Barillon et Cie au Havre

Literature

Comparative literature
George Daniels, The Art of Breguet, London, 1974, pp. 85 & 237, figs. 264a & b
Asprey, Exhibition of marine chronometers, exhibit 20, London, December 7-11, 1987

Lot Essay

From 1820 onwards Breguet No.3056 is of great historical importance and interest to German astronomy and land surveying. Writing in Astronomische Nachrichten, dated 1823, the astronomer H.C. Schumaker, Director of Altona Observatory reported on the construction of No.3056 with an explanation of the reason for it having two independently operating seconds hands; these faciliated timing of the occultations of the planet Jupiter. It is obvious from his comments that Schumaker considered No.3056 to be on of the finest, if not the finest Breguet chronometer he had used.
In the period 1820 onwards it was used, together with a number of other marine chronometers, including Arnold's 97, 1755, 2015, Kessels 1252, Breguet 3719, Barraud 904, Jurgensen 13 and others by, Emery, Bessel and Dumouchelf in determincy the difference in longitude between various observatories including those of Hamburg Altona, Lubeck, Copenhagen, Bremen and Greenwich. Breguet No.3056, however, is of considerable interest to Great Britain because it is the only marine chronometer by this eminent French horologist listed in the 19th century chronometer records of Royal Greenwich Observatory. This is because in 1839 Karl Ludwig Rümker, the Astronomer for Hamburg Observatory asked Edward Dent, the eminent London chronometer maker if he could use his influence with G.B. Airy, the Astronomer Royal, to have No.3056 rated against the transit instrument at Greenwich, together with Arnold & Dent No's 1255, 1268, 1323, 1328 and pocket chronometer No.2137. This was agreed and all those chronometers were used subsequently in re-computing the longitude of Hamburg Observatory.
Forming part of the bottom of the bowl of No.3056 is an assembly which would appear to be a balance "stop/start" control. This is no longer extent although Schumaker's writing in Astromische Nachrichteni of 1823 describes some such balance arresting control.
A similar chronometer with two seconds hands was Exhibit No.20 at Asprey, Exhibition of Marine chronometers, op. cit.

Included in this lot is an extensive collection of photostat copies of articles from Astronomische Nachrichten relating to No.3056, plus copies of the correspondence between the Astronomer Royal and Edward Dent & Co concerning the rating of No.3056 and the Arnold & Dent chronometer in 1839

More from Clocks & Watches

View All

View All