Breguet & Fils Marine Chronometer No. 2741
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1813
Completed in Paris in 1813 by Breguet & Fils, this spring-driven thirty-hour marine chronometer served as an experimental workshop test-bed before being presented to Monseigneur Louis Belmas in 1822.
Source documentation records that it incorporates a specialised club-tooth lever escapement designed to eliminate impulse sliding friction using a helical tooth on a gold roller, alongside an independent seconds train. The solid silver engine-turned dial features separate indications for standard time, recorded minutes and seconds, and two reserve-of-going sectors. The chronometer is gimballed inside a fitted wooden box equipped with retractable spring-loaded fixing screws.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Technical characteristics
- Type
- Box marine chronometer with independent seconds
- Escapement
- Club-tooth lever
- Museum Number
- 1958,1006.2066
- Place recorded
- France
- Movement Serial
- 2741
- Production Place
- Paris (France)
- Maker / attribution
- Breguet & Fils
- Dedication Inscription
- Pour Mr Belmas ami de l'auteur
Design
- Visible features
- • Fitted wooden box open on brass hinges showing a circular aperture with a sliding cover inside the upper lid. • A key clipped inside the lid next to the circular aperture. • Shield-shaped brass keyhole escutcheon mounted on the front face of the wooden box. • Circular brass movement drum gimbal-mounted within an outer brass ring. • Engine-turned silver dial displaying two large circular subsidiary dials flanked by upper and lower indicators.
- Dial and Mechanism
- The engine-turned solid silver dial displays chapter rings for the going train, independent seconds and minutes, and two lower reserve-of-going indicators. The independent train is powered by a secondary barrel and can be operated via a push-piece on the drum. The movement utilizes a club-tooth lever escapement designed with a gold helical tooth on the balance roller to achieve rolling impulse contact. The going train features an 8-turn fusee with Harrison’s maintaining power.
- Identity and Provenance
- Identified as No. 2741, this marine chronometer was manufactured in Paris by Breguet & Fils in 1813. Records indicate it functioned as an experimental workshop timekeeper until 1822, rather than serving in maritime navigation. The timepiece was presented to Monseigneur Louis Belmas, Bishop of Cambrai, and bears an internal inscription regarding its friction-reducing experimental design. It was later part of the Ilbert Collection before being presented to the British Museum in 1958.
- Construction and Housing
- The movement is contained within an open-ended gilded brass drum suspended in a gimbal cradle. This assembly is housed in a box featuring a locking system and a shield-shaped escutcheon. The box includes retractable, spring-loaded wood screws designed to secure the instrument to a surface. Source documentation provides conflicting descriptions of the box's primary material, referring to it both as walnut and mahogany.
Identification
- Serial number
- 2741
- Source note
- Facts transcribed from the linked source listing or collection record. Attribution and specifications are source-reported and have not been independently authenticated.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: Source metadata and Richard Good's text identify the box as walnut, whereas David Thompson's comments identify it as mahogany.
- Research required: Internal escapement components, helical roller tooth, and inscriptions on the back plates are enclosed and not visible from the exterior view.