12’’’ nouveau calibre gilded movement, ruby cylinder escapement, three-arm blued steel balance, parachute suspension, extended steel regulation index for adjustment in case band, numbered to bridge beneath dial 119

eccentric white enamel dial signed Breguet, Roman numerals, outer minute ring, blued steel Breguet hands

18ct gold Sécheret case, engine-turned à grains d’orge, back centred with polished circular cartouche decorated with five translucent blue enamel roundels, a sixth roundel forming an aperture for hand-setting square, off-set aperture for female winding square, milled band, regulation index recessed to the band between 10 and 11 o’clock, pendant with indistinct head assay mark, inside case back numbered 338 B and 632, French Hippocrates head 3 in irregular hexagonal cartouche (3rd standard gold 750/1000, 1838-1919), case maker’s mark LS with underlined triangle above and star beneath in lozenge-shaped cartouche for Leopold Sécheret

short gold Breguet link chain with double ended male/female ratchet key, shank’s roundel with French eagle’s head assay (1838-46) and maker’s mark LS with star beneath and crown above, chain’s upper jump ring punched twice with ram’s head restricted warranty mark (Paris 1819-1838)

Measurements

diameter 31mm

depth including crystal 7mm

chain length with key (excluding watch) 105mm

weight of watch including key and chain 23.1g

Accompaniments

Breguet Certificate No. 4443 dated 11 May 2016, later fitted box with gilt tooling, numbered 632 to the lid and signed Breguet to the interior silk lining, leather pouch with the stamp of Jump, Mount Street, London and a Breguet 250th anniversary certificate

This exquisitely finished watch, no. 338, purchased by the Comtesse in 1840, displays many of the subtle refinements for which the Maison Breguet was celebrated. The white enamel dial is elegantly off-set, a deliberate design choice which also served a practical purpose by allowing the movement to accommodate a larger mainspring barrel. The central cartouche of the case back is decorated with six roundels: five are filled with translucent dark blue enamel, while the sixth ingeniously conceals the recessed square for hand-setting. Additional features include the winding square placed off-set within the case back and a regulation index recessed discreetly into the band between 10 and 11 o’clock. This arrangement ensured that neither the front nor the back of the watch needed to be opened for winding, setting, or regulation. Indeed, as the case back is not designed to be removed from the exterior, access to the movement itself was possible only after the removal of the dial and, even then, it could be released from the case only by operating a sequence of secret locking screws - a clear attempt to prevent interference or tampering.

Margaret de la Billardrie, Lady Nairne, Baroness Keith and Countess of Flahault (1788-1867)

Within her courtly circles, the Comtesse de Flahault, née Margaret Mercer Elphinstone, would have been familiar with the work of Abraham-Louis Breguet. Her marriage to the Comte de Flahault in 1817, however, brought her into direct contact with many of those within Breguet’s orbit. Auguste Charles Joseph, Comte de Flahault de la Billarderie (1785–1870), was born in Paris to Adélaïde Filleul, later Madame de Souza-Botelho, the noted novelist. He was widely acknowledged to be the natural son of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, the future Prince de Bénévent and one of the most influential European statesmen of his age. Though never formally legitimised, Flahault’s career benefited from Talleyrand’s discreet support, and his rise - from aide-de-camp to Napoleon to senior diplomatic appointments under successive regimes - reflected the advantages of this connection.

Prince Talleyrand was one of Breguet’s most important patrons, responsible for introducing the watchmaker to a wide circle of influential and important clients. It was at Talleyrand’s house that Breguet is said to have demonstrated his invention of the parachute balance-staff protection system by throwing a watch to the floor in front of his host and their guests - to general astonishment, the mechanism continued to run.

The Comte de Flahault was himself a Breguet customer. Before his marriage to Margaret he had purchased watch No. 2200, a lever watch made “sur le principe de garde-temps”, acquired on 31 August 1814 for Fr. 3,000 (sold Antiquorum 7 December 1988, lot 223). During the 1830s, Flahault became aide-de-camp to Ferdinand-Philippe, Duc d’Orléans, another important patron of Breguet. It was during this period, in 1836, that the Duc d’Orléans took delivery of one of Breguet’s most celebrated works: an ormolu-mounted red boulle Sympathique quarter-striking clock with half-quarter repeating watch, nos. 128 and 5009. Given their close association with the Duc, it is very possible that the Flahaults would have seen the Sympathique. The Sympathique later entered the collection of the Time Museum, was sold at Sotheby’s in December 1999, and is now at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.

The Comtesse de Flahault occupied a singular position in early nineteenth-century society in both London and Paris. Born in Hertford Street in London’s Mayfair as Margaret Mercer Elphinstone in 1788, she was the only child of Admiral George Keith, 1st Viscount Keith (1746-1823), and Jane Mercer of Aldie (d. 1789). Her father, a distinguished naval officer, was created Baron Keith of Stonehaven Marischal in the Peerage of Ireland (1797) and Baron Keith of Banheath, co. Dunbarton in the Peerage of Great Britain (1803), both with the unusual special remainder to his daughter Margaret. This provision ensured that, upon his death in 1823, the dignities did not lapse for want of a male heir but instead descended to his daughter. Accordingly, Margaret succeeded suo jure as 2nd Baroness Keith. In 1837, upon the death of her cousin William, 6th Baron Nairne who died unmarried, Margaret also inherited the title Baroness Nairne. She was a rare instance of a woman of her generation holding multiple peerages independently, rather than by courtesy or marriage.

Margaret was already a familiar figure at court before assuming her father’s titles, in large part through her close friendship with Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796–1817), the only child of the Prince Regent, later George IV, and heir presumptive to the throne. The Princess’s household was tightly controlled by her father, who restricted her companions to a very narrow circle of young women of suitable family and character. Margaret’s parentage and social standing, combined with her reputation for intelligence and spirit, secured her place within this select company. Surviving correspondence demonstrates that Charlotte turned to Margaret regularly, and the frequency of their letters suggests the depth of the bond that developed between them. Their friendship was both personal and political, providing Charlotte with a trusted confidante as she navigated the isolation and tensions of her position. The relationship endured until the Princess’s untimely death in 1817, an event which left a lasting impression on Margaret.

On 20 June 1817, Margaret married Auguste Charles Joseph, Comte de Flahault-de-la- Billardrie (1785-1870). The Comte had been educated in Britain and as an aide-de-camp to Napoleon Bonaparte went into exile in Britain after Napoleon’s fall. Returning to favour at the French court, the Flahaults moved to France in the late 1820s, and Margaret established herself as a prominent figure in Parisian society. The Comte was entrusted with a series of important diplomatic postings including ambassadorships at Rome and Vienna. From 1860-1862 the Comte served as French Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s during Queen Victoria’s reign. His career concluded with the prestigious office of Chancellor of the Légion d’honneur in Paris.

Margaret died in 1867 at the Palais de la Légion d’honneur and was buried in Scotland at Tulliallan Castle. Of her five daughters, the eldest, Emily Jane, became Lady Nairne through succession, though the Keith baronies themselves lapsed as they were restricted to male heirs.1

1 Sources for the life of the Comtesse de Flahualt: Burke’s Peerage, 1967; Reynolds, K., Flahault de la Billardrie, Margaret de [née Margaret Mercer Elphinstone], suo jure Lady Nairne and suo jure Baroness Keith, and Countess de Flahault de la Billardrie in the French nobility (1788–1867), society hostess. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,  Oxford: 2004; Aspinall, A. ed. Letters of the Princess Charlotte 1811-1817, London: Home and Van Thal, 1949.