There are many great stories to be found throughout the history of watchmaking. From the early days of timekeeping through to the quartz revolution and on to the present day revolution of smartwatches. But the most interesting stories involve intrigue, mystery and drama – and, believe me, the history of watchmaking absolutely has these kind of stories.
One of the most interesting stories is the story of the world’s most valuable watch – which is exactly what we will cover today. So read on and find out all about Breguet’s Marie Antoinette watch.
How Did The Marie Antoinette Watch Come To Be?
Back in 1783 a mystery admirer of Queen Marie Antoinette, believed to be Count Hans Axel von Fersen, ordered her a watch. Now, this isn’t all that amazing – many men have bought the woman they admire a watch over the years. But he did not order her any old watch – he ordered her a watch which had to be “as spectacular as possible.”
The admirer stipulated that it must incorporate the fullest range of horological expertise, be made of no metal other than gold and that the complications were as numerous as possible. There were no limits on the amount of money he would spent, nor the amount of time it took to create this masterpiece. And he ordered this watch from arguably the greatest watchmaker of the time – Abraham-Louis Breguet.
Unfortunately neither Queen Marie Antoinette, her admirer, nor Breguet lived to see the finished timepiece. The watch was completed 34 years after Marie Antoinette’s death, 4 years after Breguet’s and 44 years after it had been originally ordered.
But it was absolutely worth the wait!
How Incredible Was Breguet’s Marie Antoinette Watch
The timepiece – which is known as “The Queen” – is the most valuable watch in the world for a very good reason. It is valued at over $30 million and it is certain that there are many people around who would happily pay that amount to get their hands on it if it is ever sold.
The 60mm pocket watch features a full perpetual calendar, a jumping hour hand, 23 complications and 823 parts. It, as requested, is encased in 18-karat gold and numerous sapphires can be seen upon each working surface. It is unbelievably beautiful and would have undoubtedly amazed its intended owner if she had lived to see it.
The watch is still the 5th most complicated watch in the world despite being made almost 200 years ago.
The Story Didn’t End There
A French nobleman was the first owner of this watch and he held onto it until 1838 when he took it to be repaired, but failed to return and pick it back up. Madame Breguet then took the watch into her possession for the next 50 years before selling it to Sir Spencer Brunton in 1887.
The watch then ended up in the hands of Sir David Salomons, an expert in Breguet watches, in the 1920’s. He added this beautiful watch to his collection alongside his other 124 Breguet pieces. This watch was bequeathed to the L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art in Jerusalem alongside 57 of his best Breguet pieces upon his death.
A Mystery Which Wouldn’t Look Out of Place In Sherlock Holmes
It was during its time in the L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art that one of the most incredible parts of the story of Breguet’s Marie Antoinette watch took palce. On April the 15th 1983 half of the 192 watches on display at the L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art suddenly disappeared. Many police investigations and private investigations were carried out but none of them managed to find out where the watch had disappeared to.
In the end people just gave up and this incredible watch simply remained missing. In the end Breguet’s Marie Antoinette watch did not just disappear from its place on display but also from the minds of watch lovers worldwide.
That remained the case until 1999 when Nicolas G. Hayek, the CEO of the Swatch Group – who now own Breguet – realised that an important part of the companies history was missing. He commissioned an exact replica of the watch, using wood from Marie Antoinette’s favourite oak tree from her residence in Versailles for the case. This tree had coincidentally just been struck down by a storm as work started on the replica watch.
But just before this watch was unveiled to the public in 2006, a lawyer was contacted by an American woman looking to disclose the location of a box of watches and clocks. These watches and clocks were housed in Tel Aviv and their location had been disclosed to this woman on her husbands deathbed. Her husband had also disclosed that he had stolen them decades earlier.
It turned out that this box contained some incredibly valuable watches and clocks… including Breguet’s Marie Antoinette watch. They had been wrapped carelessly in newspaper and left to collect dust over the years. The artistic director of the L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art, Rachel Hasson, explained in 2009:
“I opened them and identified them from their numbers. Most were in good shape. Some were damaged. When I came to the Marie Antoinette, I couldn’t help crying. It was so moving and exciting to see it after so many years.”
The identity of the woman who returned these watches was uncovered eventually. She was called Nili Shomrat, the wife of Na’aman Lidor – who was actually a very well known thief in Europe. He had changed his name from Na’aman Diller – Israel’s “genius burglar” who had committed crimes throughout Europe. These crimes in Holland, France, Germany, Switzerland amongst other countries had landed him in jail on many occasions. A raid of his home in Los Angeles was carried out in 2008 and found many more valuable artefacts.
Breguet’s Marie Antoinette watch is now back in its place at the L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art. But one would predict that this watch might end up going on another adventure sooner rather than later!
