Patrizzi & Co’s upcoming auction, originally slated for April 25, is being pushed back until the 7th of May because of the disruption of global air traffic caused by eruptions from the Icelandic Volcano Eyjafjallajokull. Some of the timepieces are currently held up in Hong Kong, and would have been unable to make the Geneva auction, which will now take place in the Grand Hotel Kempinski.

Entitled Timeless Emotions, Important Collectors’ Pocket Watches, Wristwatches, Clocks & Documents, this auction is headlined with handwritten manuscripts detailing Abraham Louis Breguet’s watchmaking techniques.

In 1818, five years before his death, Breguet began the process of passing down his vast knowledge in the horology field. As his assistant Louis Moinet took down his dictations, Breguet was able to have his experience, developments, and secrets documented. Breguet wanted to offer in-depth descriptions future generations of watchmakers could learn from. After each day, Breguet would make corrections on what Moinet had written; the facing page was left blank on each document for these corrections.

Included in the auction are manuscripts that detail things such as Breguet’s history and philosphy and his ideas of horological concepts like single-hand watches, new repetition, repeating mechanisms, perpetuelles, tourbillons, and marine horology. Each of these documents is estimated at CHF 40,000- CHF 80,000.

Beginning on May 4, the entire collection will be available for preview; the auction will be divided into two sessions, beginning at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. respectively.

-Affluent Page

[Patrizzi & Co.]