Collector's Pocket Watches, Wristwatc...

Grand Havana Room, New York, Sep 20, 2001

LOT 371

Breguet, Ref. 3650, 1990?sVery fine and rare 18K yellow gold gentleman?s wristwatch with tourbillon, power reserve, sector for fly back 24 hour indication, leather strap and 18K yellow gold Breguet buckle.

USD 48,000 - 52,000

C. three body, solid, reeded band, straight lugs, screwed bars, transparent back, sapphire crystal. D. ?guilloché? silver with painted radial Roman numerals on a plain reserve, aperture for the tourbillon, seconds hand on the tourbillon shaft, power reserve and sector for fly back 24 hour indication. ?Breguet? blued steel hands. M. Cal. 560, 24 jewels, hand engraved gilt brass, lever escapement, monometallic balance adjusted to 6 positions, self-compensating Breguet balance-spring.Dial, case and movement signed.Dia. 40 mm.

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Image

Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent

Case: 1

As new

Movement: 1

As new

Dial: 1 - 01

Notes

What is a Tourbillon?A Tourbillon is a regulating mechanism in which the escapement of a movement is housed within a revolving carriage. It was developed in an effort to attain better precision. When a watch is in a vertical position, the force of gravity will speed the balance wheel as it moves in its downward (arc) direction and slow as it moves upward, creating deviational errors in the timekeeping. By placing the balance and escapement in a carriage that revolves 360o per minute, these errors become averaged andthe timekeeping becomes constant and consequently adjustable. Created by Abraham Louis Breguet in 1795, the tourbillon is considered a difficult and complex achievement by any watch manufacture.What is a Power Reserve?The power reserve, reserve de marche, is a complication which is used on mechanical wristwatches. A manually wound mechanical movement has a mainspring that needs to be permanently monitored. After a certain amount of time, the wristwatch will run out of power and the mainspring will need to be rewound. The power reserve indicator adds a measure of control over the mainspring and indicates when to wind the watch. Power reserves are also located on automatic movements. In this type of wristwatchs well, the power reserve indicates how much power is left in the mainspring when the wristwatch is not worn.