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Lot Essay
Accompanied by a later Breguet fitted box.
According to the archives of Montres Breguet the present watch was sold to Monsieur Tambu of Poland on 14 Nivose, an 10 (January 3, 1803) for the amount of 1680 francs.
The montre à tact or tactful watch was invented by Abraham Louis Breguet in the late 1790s during an epoch when it was unseemly to read the time in public. The "à tact" system helped to tell the time in polite society without taking the watch out of your pocket and possibly offending your host or hostess. It is also referred to as the watch for the blind as the exposed pointer and markers on the band allow the wearer to determine the time by touch.
Breguet's tact watches were fitted with a so-called variation of the souscription movement, classified as petite (small), moyenne (medium) and grande (large). It is thought that a total of around 915 of these movements were made, out of which about 35 petites, such as the present watch, are known. These exclusive watches, first introduced in 1799, were quite costly, priced between 1,000 and 2,000 francs. Those fitted with a jeweled case would cost as much as 5,000 francs.
According to the archives of Montres Breguet the present watch was sold to Monsieur Tambu of Poland on 14 Nivose, an 10 (January 3, 1803) for the amount of 1680 francs.
The montre à tact or tactful watch was invented by Abraham Louis Breguet in the late 1790s during an epoch when it was unseemly to read the time in public. The "à tact" system helped to tell the time in polite society without taking the watch out of your pocket and possibly offending your host or hostess. It is also referred to as the watch for the blind as the exposed pointer and markers on the band allow the wearer to determine the time by touch.
Breguet's tact watches were fitted with a so-called variation of the souscription movement, classified as petite (small), moyenne (medium) and grande (large). It is thought that a total of around 915 of these movements were made, out of which about 35 petites, such as the present watch, are known. These exclusive watches, first introduced in 1799, were quite costly, priced between 1,000 and 2,000 francs. Those fitted with a jeweled case would cost as much as 5,000 francs.