Live Auction 1388Important Watches
Mugnier. A fine 18K gold openface à toc quarter repeating jump hour watch with date of the month
Lot 238

Mugnier. A fine 18K gold openface à toc quarter repeating jump hour watch with date of the month

SIGNED MUGNIER, HORLOGER DE S. M. L'EMPEREUR ET ROI, PARIS, NO. 974, CIRCA 1810

Closed14 May 2012

Price Realised

CHF 15,000

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Mugnier. A fine 18K gold openface à toc quarter repeating jump hour watch with date of the month
Signed Mugnier, Horloger de S. M. l'Empereur et Roi, Paris, No. 974, circa 1810
22''' gilded brass movement, bar calibre, with polished steel and brass two-wheel duplex escapement, three-arm plain brass balance, with pare-chute suspension on the top pivot, blued steel flat balance spring with bimetallic compensation curb on the regulator; repeating with a single steel hammer striking directly on the case with pull-twist piston in the pendant, gold cuvette, engine-turned à grains d'orge gold dial, radial Roman numerals on a plain reserve, outer minute track and blued steel Breguet hands; on the right, subsidiary dial for the seconds, with Arabic radial numerals and blued steel equilibrated hand; symmetrically to the left, subsidiary dial for the date of the month with blued steel index, circular four body "collier"-form case no. 2841 by Pierre-Benjamin Tavernier, engine-turned à grains d'orge back, in the centre a small blank cartouche, fluted band; ball-shaped pendant and round bow; case stamped with Tavernier's master mark, dial and cuvette signed
51.6 mm. diam.

Specialist note

Mugnier le Jeune
Son of Mugnier l'Ainé, Parisian watchmaker working for Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823).
Mugnier le Jeune is Horloger de l'Empereur (Watchmaker of the Emperor), Napoleon I (1769-1821), Emperor of the French (1804-1815), then Horloger de S.A.R. Monsieur frère du roi (Watchmaker of HRH the King's brother), the future Charles X (1757-1836), King of France and Navarre (1824-1830).
When he signed "Horloger de S. M. I. et R." or "Horloger de LL. MM. II. et RR." this referred to Horloger de Sa Majesté Impériale et Royale (Watchmaker of His Imperial and Royal Majesty) or Horloger de Leurs Majestés Impériales et Royales (Watchmaker of their Imperial and Royal Majesties), title given to Napoleon I and his wife. He created several extraordinary watches with automatic winding and various other watch complications (see: Sabrier, Jean-Claude, La montre à remontage automatique, XVIIIe - XXIe siècles, Paris, Editions Cercle d'Art, 2011, pp. 112-115). The watches known by Mugnier are all in the vein of the best accomplishments of Abraham-Louis Breguet.
A certain Lepinte succeeded him in 1840. He was active until around 1850.

Addresses
Mugnier l'Ainé:
Paris, rue de la Loi (1800/1806)
Paris, rue Richelieu (1810/1812)
Paris, rue du Bac (1815/1823)
Mugnier le Jeune :
Paris, rue Neuve des Petits-Champs (around 1810/1830)