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WATCH NEWS
October 25, 2016
Marie Antoinette's Watch Arrives in Japan! | BREGUET
BREGUET | BREGUET
Rumored to be worth hundreds of billions of yen!?
The ultimate masterpiece desired by the Queen.
What was the mechanism designed by the legendary watchmaker Breguet?
A special content exploring the turbulent life of Marie Antoinette will be unveiled in Japan for the first time, under the auspices of the Palace of Versailles. Amidst a wealth of highlights, including magnificent paintings from the court, furnishings beloved by the Queen, and a life-size space to experience Marie Antoinette's private world, the replica of the legendary pocket watch created by the legendary watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet at the Queen's commission is a particular point of interest.
Text by TSUCHIDA Takashi (OPENERS)
At the Transition from Early Modern to Modern Times
An Unprecedented Pocket Watch with the Most Complex Mechanism
Known as the ultimate masterpiece of the legendary watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, the "Marie Antoinette," or Breguet No. 160, is a complex timepiece. In 1783, a person believed to be an envoy of the Queen visited Breguet's workshop and commissioned a watch incorporating all known complex mechanisms of the time, with no limit on deadline or cost.
Completed 44 years after the commission and 34 years after the Queen's death, this watch went on to have a remarkable fate, weaving a tapestry of legends. Particularly famous are the stories of its theft from the Israel Museum in 1983 and its miraculous rediscovery in 2007.
The modern Breguet company began its restoration in 2005. Without the opportunity to disassemble the original for detailed examination, they relied on historical documents and independently completed the replica in 2008. The 21st-century "Marie Antoinette" (replica), created using the finest contemporary technology while inheriting the founder's great legacy, is also a masterpiece that has added a new page to horological history.
The "Breguet No. 1160 Marie Antoinette" produced by the modern Breguet company. While the original bears the reference number "No. 160," the replica is given the reference number "No. 1160." This model features the following nine highlights:
1. Perpetual calendar (an accurate calendar display that accounts for leap years)
2. Minute repeater (an audible indication of the current time upon activation)
3. Split-seconds chronograph (two independent stopwatches)
4. Power reserve indicator (displays the remaining power reserve of the watch)
5. Equation of time display (shows the variation in the length of a day)
6. Self-winding (proprietary automatic winding mechanism)
7. Sapphire pallet jewels (due to high friction and wear)
8. Transparent crystal dial (allows viewing of the internal mechanism's movement)
9. Solid gold case
The box housing the watch is made from oak wood from the Petit Trianon palace within the Palace of Versailles. Around the time Breguet began producing the replica model "Breguet No. 1160 Marie Antoinette," an oak tree in the gardens of the Petit Trianon, where Marie Antoinette frequently spent her time, was to be felled. Upon learning this, Breguet conceived the idea of processing this oak wood into a presentation box for the No. 1160.
The Palace of Versailles, which manages the Petit Trianon, provided Breguet with this oak wood. In return, Breguet undertook financial support for the restoration project of the Petit Trianon as a token of gratitude.
This exceptionally precious replica model, "Breguet No. 1160 Marie Antoinette," with such a background, will be specially exhibited for two days only, November 2nd (Wednesday) and November 3rd (Thursday, holiday), at the Mori Arts Center Gallery's "Palace of Versailles «Supervised by» Marie Antoinette Exhibition: The Truth of the French Queen Revealed Through Her Artworks."
We highly recommend experiencing this opportunity to witness the supreme tradition built by Breguet, a legacy for future generations.
Palace of Versailles «Supervised by»
Marie Antoinette Exhibition
The Truth of the French Queen Revealed Through Her Artworks
Dates | October 25, 2016 (Tuesday) - February 26, 2017 (Sunday)
*The "No. 1160 Marie Antoinette" will be exhibited on November 2nd (Wednesday) and November 3rd (Thursday, holiday) only.
Hours | 10:00 - 20:00, 10:00 - 17:00 (Tuesdays and October 27th) *Last admission 30 minutes before closing.
Venue | Mori Arts Center Gallery (52F, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Tokyo)
Inquiries
Breguet Boutique Ginza
Tel. 03-6254-7211