MOVEMENT BEARING THE SIGNATURE OF BREGUET, PARIS, CIRCA 1830

Watches and clocks with memento mori, latin for "reminder of death", motifs were amongst the standard subject matter of 17th century vanitas still lifes which included objects with an underlying moral message: such as the combination of a skull and a watch, both reminders of the passage of time.

Particularly en vogue again during the 19th century, it was common practice amongst watchmakers of the period to reproduce such watches.