Live Auction 1366Important Watches
Breguet. A very fine and rare silver and enamel Art Deco 8-day miniature "hump-back" desk timepiece with original box, made for King Fouad I of Egypt
Lot 302 THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR

Breguet. A very fine and rare silver and enamel Art Deco 8-day miniature "hump-back" desk timepiece with original box, made for King Fouad I of Egypt

SIGNED BREGUET, NO. 1015, CASE NO. B 1015, MOVEMENT NO. 1015, SOLD ON 8 NOVEMBER 1925 TO HIS MAJESTY, KING FOUAD I OF EGYPT, FOR THE AMOUNT OF FF 3,688

Closed11 May 2009

Price Realised

CHF 32,500

Considering selling a similar item?

Discover its value with a complimentary estimate from our specialists.

More Information

How to sell

Breguet. A very fine and rare silver and enamel Art Deco 8-day miniature "hump-back" desk timepiece with original box, made for King Fouad I of Egypt
Signed Breguet, No. 1015, case no. B 1015, movement no. 1015, sold on 8 November 1925 to His Majesty, King Fouad I of Egypt, for the amount of FF 3,688
Gilt-finished jewelled 8-day lever movement, silvered matte dial, Roman numerals, outer railway five minute divisions, light blue and coral enamelled silver spade hands, "hump-back" case with rounded top, front decorated with fine inlaid black enamel vertical stripes and a transversal ribbon of black, light blue and coral enamel floral and geometrical decoration in high relief, applied emblem of King Fouad I to the lower part, apertures for winding and regulating the movement and setting the time to the back, case numbered, dial signed and numbered, movement numbered
70 mm. high

King Fouad I, father of King Farouk, was the first leader of modern independent Egypt. During his reign (1917-1936) as the ninth sovereign of the line of Mohamed Ali, Egypt changed from its brief status as a sultanate under a British protectorate (and its earlier status, prior to World War I, as a khedivial state nominally subservient to the Ottoman Sultan-Caliph in Istanbul) to become a full-fledged and independent kingdom.

A regular and faithful client of Breguet, the present timepiece was made for King Fouad I by special order.

Specialist note

With Breguet Paris original fitted green leather presentation box with applied gilt crown of King Fouad I to the front, a small compartment to the inside containing the key.

According to the Archives of Montres Breguet, the present "borne" or "milestone-shaped" timepiece is part of a small series of only six of such silver clocks decorated with vertical black enamel lignes and a transversal ribbon in three colour enamel, ordered by His Majesty King Fouad I of Egypt in November 1925.

It is listed in Breguet's workbooks as "pendulette borne en argent, filets verticaux en email noir, ruban transversal émaillé en trois tons (bleu, corail, noir), sous le cadran la couronne et le chiffre de sa Majesté le Roi d'Egypte Fouad I. Cadran argenté, chiffres romaines en émail noir avec des aiguilles en argent émaillées bleu et corail, mouvement 8 jours".

Sold to his Majesty King Fouad I on 8 December 1925 for the amount of FF 3,688, it has never been returned to the workshops of Breguet since.

Consigned by a private collector, the present timepiece is preserved in very good, unspoilt original overall condition, showing tarnish to the silver case, a typical sign that it has not been used or polished in a long time. The rarity is furthermore enhanced by the original presentation box.