History: Silver "hunip back " style carriage clocks were intr oduced by Breguet circa 1813. Very few were made by that time and they are among the best ever produced by Breguet. Even fewer carriage clocks of this type were made in the early 20th century at the request of important clients, the most complicated one being that completed for Ettore Bugatti in 1931 as a replica of the most elaborated one made in the early 19th century. In England, James Jump made towards the end of the I 9th century a few silver carriage clocks in the "hump-back " style, which, nowadays together will those made by Breguet, are among the most thought after by collectors. Three almost identical clocks were completed by Breguet in July 1898 after the No. 4963 sold to M. Polovtsoff in February 1885 for 2400 Francs: No. 2426 the present lot. No. 2427 was sold to the Grancle Duchesse Paul de Russie on I Oth June 1904 for 2500 Francs. No. 2428 Was sold to S.M. 1'Imperattice Marie Fedorovna de Russic on 19th November 1909, for 3000 Francs. Charles de Wendel was born in Touraine (France) in 1871, Charles was the second child and eldest son of Robert de Wendel and Consuelo Manuel who had married in 1869. Charles de Wendel acquired a thorough knowledge of the metalworking industry through spending a lot of time at his father's ironworks factories and at those of other companies. In 1897, he travelled to the United States and spent five years in Pittsburgh studying the American methods in this field. In 1902, he returned from America to Ilayange (Lorraine) together with a team of engineers, and with them developed Saint-Jacques, installed a steelworks plant in Mattin and began to ttu-n Patural into Europe 's most modern high-furnace plant. In 1903, at the death of their father, Charles and his brother Guy (born in 1878) succeeded as managers of Les Pelits-Fils company. Charles was a keen technician, eager to modernize the factories. He was declared unfit for military service both in France and in Germany. Charles was a violent and bitter man, frequently giving way to malice and anger. He had a passion for horses and, despite his weak health, was an excellent horse trainer. Like his uncle Henri de Wendel, he accepted to represent his compatriots at the Reichtag. As candidate for Lorraine, he was triumphantly elected in Thionville on 21 January 1907. " Who is this young French cockerel" , asked the mayor ' s wife on seeing him at an official gathering. On 4 October 1908, Charles de Wendel, then honorary chairman of the "French Souvenir Committee " , inaugurated the Noisseville monument in front of 80000 people. In his speech he stated: "I remind the children of Lorraine who are listening to me, that loyalty to the memory of the dead, the spirit of sacrifice, respect of the past, and attachment to local traditions are the virtues essential to all races who want to last m time? . That same day the French flag was laid on the grave of the victims of the Terrible Year. At the Reichtag, Charles fought for all oppressed populations. In pleading the cause of the Polish people, he failed to move a hostile assembly, and cried out that same word that history attributes to General Cambronne in the heat of a battle: "Merde!, It was a cry of outrage. But above all, Charles pleaded for a constitution in Alsace-Lorraine. However, what Berlin finally granted was disappointing and Charles protested, in vain. In 1912 he decided not to run for re-election and crossed the border to France. He retired to Paris where lie spent the last years of his life. He died in 1931 m the Castle of Orfrasiere in Touraine, where he was born. Exhibition: Exhibited in the M.I.H. ( Musee international d'horlogerie) in La Chaux-de-Fonds organised for the 250th Anniversary of Breguet's birth.