In watchmaking, as in any other ancient activity, there are many myths that we will gradually debunk
Most of us, of course, are familiar with the lines of the great poet Alexander Pushkin, who died after being wounded in a duel exactly 180 years ago:
Onegin goes to the boulevard
And there he walks in the open space,
While the watchful Breget
Dinner won't ring his bell.
For some reason, again, most of us are sure that Eugene Onegin had a Breguet watch. But this is not a fact. In those days, all striking pocket watches were called breguet, and great master Abraham-Louis Breguet, with all his desire, physically could not provide even a quarter of the Russian nobility with his watches.
Here is what the “Big Dictionary” writes about this foreign words”:
Breguet – noun masculine(derived from the name of the French watchmaker Breguet, 1747–1823). Pocket watch, distinguished by great accuracy, chimed the hours, fractions of the hours and showed the dates of the month
The compiler of the “Dictionary of Foreign Words” included in the Russian language, A. N. Chudinov, in 1910 defined the word “breguet” as:
A watch with a special kind of key rotating on a cog; in the past they were in great use.
He mentioned the key quite correctly. Winding crowns as we know them appeared only in the second half of the 19th century, and they were invented by Jean-Adrian Philippe, whose name forms the second part of the name of the great house Patek Philippe
Why did all striking pocket watches come to be called Breguets?
I think because highest quality models that came out of the hands of the great master. Its fame was such that Breguet watches became the first victims of numerous counterfeits, and Breguet had to invent signature unique guilloche patterns, which were applied to the dial not only to hide the unevenness of the surface, but also as protection against illegal copying. This is how any watch began to be called a Breguet.
Eponyms are words that received their names due to their inventors. The most famous of them: copier (rota-print copying machine), mac (cloak), Olivier (salad), sweatshirt (shirt with long tails), berdanka (gun), riding breeches (trousers), mausoleum, attic, open-hearth and many others
Among the watch eponyms, one can recall “bove”, from the Bovet company. This is still the name in Chinese for all watches that were once incredibly popular in the Middle Kingdom.
In general, Onegin could well have had a striking pocket watch in his coat pocket: Vacheron Constantin, Blancpain, Jaquet Droz, Ferdinand Berthoud, Freres, Perrelet, Jean-François Bautte (whose workshop was eventually renamed Girard-Perregaux) and models of others masters who worked in the first half of the 19th century.
released a unique model hours, dedicated to the great genius Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.
While in morning dress,
Putting on a wide bolivar,
Onegin goes to the boulevard
And there he walks in the open space,
Breguet still awake
Dinner won't ring his bell.
A.S. Pushkin, “Eugene Onegin”
Voiced poetry
The love of the Breguet watch brand and the great Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin has always been mutual. The poet mentioned the name of the brand more than once in his works. For example, the name Breguet appeared twice in the poem “Eugene Onegin”.
Paying tribute to the genius of Pushkin, the watch house created an excellent model of the Reine de Naples chronometer, the dial of which is decorated with a portrait of Alexander Sergeevich. The decor of the dial is interesting because it is made in the shape of a cameo. Cameos were very fashionable in Pushkin's times. Also watch inlaid with dozens of small white diamonds and white gold. To top it off, they are equipped with a bracelet made of genuine white crocodile leather.
This product was produced in a single copy specifically for Russia. They will be sold in the mono-brand Breguet boutique.
Portrait of Abraham-Louis Breguet
Breguet Marine 8828 watch
The history of the house of Breguet began in 1775, when watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747 – 1823) opened his first workshop on the Quai de l’Horloge in Paris. Breguet inherited his interest in watchmaking from his stepfather, a watchmaker, for whom he worked as an apprentice as a boy. At the age of 15, to continue his studies, Breguet came from Switzerland to Paris, with which most of the history of Breguet will be connected.
Portrait of Abraham-Louis Breguet
One of Breguet's first inventions was the automatic, or “perpetual” watch, which he first sold in 1780. He equipped the pocket watch with a platinum rotor, which rotated under the influence of the movement of the watch and thereby set the winding mechanism in motion. Thus, the watch no longer required additional winding using a key.
Automatic watch Breguet N°1/8/82
By the end of the 18th century, pocket watches still could not boast of high accuracy: under the influence of gravitational forces, the clock rate inevitably either accelerated or slowed down. The first person to solve this problem was Breguet. In 1801, the watchmaker received a patent for his most famous invention - the tourbillon. Its essence was that Breguet installed a movable platform in the watch with an escapement mechanism, which, rotating at a given point in time, helped to level out the movement error. Many watch manufacturers successfully use the tourbillon to this day.
Watercolor illustration for the tourbillon patent, 180
Breguet made the next revolution in watchmaking in 1812, when his workshop completed work on the first wristwatch. By order of the Queen of Naples, Caroline Murat, the youngest sister of Napoleon Bonoparte, Breguet created an ultra-thin watch with a thermometer for that time and placed it on a bracelet made of gold threads. Unfortunately, the unique watch has not survived, and the only reminder of it is records in the archives of the Breguet house
Caroline Bonaparte with her daughter, Marie Vigée-Lebrun, 1807.
Abraham-Louis Breguet's famous clients included Marie Antoinette, Napoleon Bonaparte and Ottoman Sultan Selim III. The creations of the famous watchmaker were especially popular in Russian Empire. In 1808, Breguet opened its representative office in Russia in St. Petersburg - the “Russian House”, and in 1814 Alexander I himself came to Breguet’s Paris workshop. On the day of his arrival, the emperor purchased a watch and left an order for eight “pedometers” - metronomes for marching time regulation
Emperor Alexander I. Francois Pascal Simon Gerard, 1814
The Breguet workshops moved to Breguet's native Switzerland only in 1976. From now on, all watch production is based in the Vallée de Joux near Geneva, and Breguet products become a symbol of Swiss watchmaking
Pictured: Breguet Manufacture in Vallée de Joux
IN once again the Breguet house loudly announced itself in 1998. Just as at the beginning of the 19th century Breguet managed to create wrist watch To surprise Caroline Murat, at the end of the 20th century, Breguet craftsmen created the smallest automatic chronograph movement in the world for women.
Breguet Marine 8828 watch
In addition to gravity, magnetic fields also affect the accuracy of watches. Breguet's craftsmen, on the other hand, managed to use magnetism to improve the precision of their products. In 2010, the Breguet house received a patent for the “magnetic axis” invented by the manufacture, with which it began new stage in the history of the house and watchmaking. Using magnets, this system ensures the consistency and reliability of the balance of the movement, making the watch even more perfect.
Tradition Chronographe Independent_7077BB
Vladimir Nabokov's commentary on Eugene Onegin occupies a plump volume of almost a thousand pages and explains almost every word of the great novel. Most readers, however, became familiar with the text back in school years, without attaching importance to philological subtleties, but surely everyone will remember what kind of watch the main character had. " The Wakeful Breget", immortalized by Alexander Sergeevich (by the way, three times - a rare honor!), appeared on the pages of other works of world literature - from Balzac and Dumas to Kuprin and Jacob. Lenta.ru recalls quotes from classic texts that mention the famous brand, and shows those Breguet watches that literary characters might have owned.
The main thing that people at least somewhat familiar with technology know about Abraham-Louis Breguet is that he invented the tourbillon. Patent for new type The master received a regulator that levels the effect of earth's gravity on the clock mechanism on June 26, 1801 (or 7 Messidor of the IX year according to the calendar of Republican France). A native of Neuchâtel, from a French family, a Swiss expat who achieved fame and success in the homeland of his ancestors, Breguet also invented a self-winding watch and the first wristwatch (made by order of Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte and wife of his gallant Marshal Murat).
One of the components of Breguet's technical and marketing success was the introduction of proprietary details that made the watch recognizable at first sight. These are blue blued Breguet hands with offset tips - “apples”, which appeared in 1783, a fluted case ring, by which both ancient and modern “Breguet” hands can be recognized even “in profile”, and a characteristic logo design. The Swiss's watches were as popular as Louis Vuitton bags are now, and they were shamelessly counterfeited. Showing business acumen, in 1795 the watchmaker came up with perhaps the first “identifier of authenticity” in history: a tiny secret signature engraved on the dial, visible only in bright light. In addition, each watch has its own number - using it you can check the provenance of watches from Napoleonic times and “Breguet” contemporaries of Eugene Onegin, and at the same time the authenticity of modern models.
Around 1786, Breguet began making guilloche dials. He introduced into fashion the engravings “diamond edge”, or “Parisian nails” (clou de Paris), “Parisian pavement” (pavé de Paris), “sun rays” (rayon de soleil), “barley grain” (grains d'orge ), “waves” (vagues), “wicker basket” (vieux panier), “checkerboard pattern” (damier), “fire pattern” (décor flammé) and many more motifs that are still successfully used by both Breguet and other brands.
Breguet is perhaps the only brand in the world that has three of its own museums: in Zurich - one of largest cities home country Abraham-Louis Breguet, in Paris - the “capital of the world”, where he achieved success, and in Shanghai - since his watches have been wildly popular in China for many years.
Alexander Pushkin, “Eugene Onegin”
4730 - quarter-hour repeater in a gold case with 22 platinum screws. It was purchased in 1829 for 4,000 francs by Princess Bagration; since 1836 it belonged to Nathaniel de Rothschild.
“Putting on a wide bolivar,
Onegin goes to the boulevard,
And there he walks in the open space,
While the watchful Breget
Dinner won’t ring his bell.”
Honoré de Balzac, "Eugenie Grande"
4821 is a small simple medallion watch. Case made of ornamental stones, frame made of gold, dial made of ornamental stones, offset hands, escapement with a ruby pin. Sold on December 31, 1842 to Prince Demidov for 2500 francs.
“He took out a charming flat watch by Breguet.
- How? Only eleven more? I got up early."
(Translation: Yuri Verkhovsky)
Alexander Kuprin, "Breguet"
3519 - watch with double second hand. Mock repeater striking the halves of first class quarters, days of the week and numeral designation of the month, guilloché gold case with hidden portrait of a young woman, miniature on ivory. Sold on March 8, 1822 to General Davydov for 4,500 francs.
“Yesterday Count Olkhovsky went to the landowner to play diabelok, otherwise landsknecht. It turned out that he won one and a half thousand in money, a Karak stallion and a gold Breguet watch. Olkhovsky immediately showed us this watch. Indeed, a good watch: with carvings, with decorations, and when you press the button on top, it very melodiously rings out how many quarters and what time it is. Antique watch."
Prosper Merimee, Letters from Spain
3066 is a first class half-quarter repeater watch with moon phase indication. Guilloche gold case, guilloché silver dial with wide aperture moon phase indicator. The watch was sent to the Duke de Frias on June 18, 1818 for 2,700 francs.
“The traveler begins to repent that he took so much money with him. He looks at the time on his watch and thinks he sees his watch in last time. How nice it would be to know that they are hanging calmly on his mantelpiece in Paris!”
(Translation: Nadezhda Rykova)
Alexandre Dumas, "The Count of Monte Cristo"
3825 - military counter for beating the marching step. Silver case, guilloché silver dial, calibrated from sixty to one hundred and twenty beats per minute. The watch was delivered on May 15, 1822 to General Brozin for the Russian Emperor Alexander I for 1800 francs.
“Show me your watch,” said Albert.
Pastrini took from his vest pocket a magnificent breguet with the name of the master and the count's crown.
- Here they are.
- Damn it! - said Albert. - Congratulations! I have almost the same ones,” he took his watch out of his vest pocket, “and it cost me three thousand francs.”
(Translation: Vladimir Stroev, Lydia Olavskaya)
William Thackeray, Vanity Fair
180 is a small gold ring watch equipped with an alarm function, winding and time setting via the crown. Sold on October 18, 1836 to Prince Alexander Demidov for 5,500 francs.
“One evening, Rebecca casually mentioned that the watch that Rawdon gave her was an English product and was going badly - and the very next morning she was sent a lovely Leroy watch, with a chain and a cover decorated with turquoise, and another - with the Breguet brand, studded with pearls and no larger than half a crown.”
(Translation: Mikhail Dyakonov)
On the pages of the novel “Eugene Onegin” Alexander Pushkin mentioned “brands” that were popular in Russia early XIX century. We remember the companies whose products and services were used by Russian aristocrats.
Bolivar hat
John James Chalon. Fashion store in Paris. 1822
Putting on a wide bolivar,
Onegin goes to the boulevard.
Black cylinder with wide brim- this is what the most fashionable headdress of that time looked like. In illustrations for the novel, characters are usually depicted wearing bolivars.
In the 19th century, hats were often named after public figures, and some people even expressed their Political Views. In 1821–1823, when the poet began work on the novel, cylinders named after General Simon Bolivar gained popularity. He was a national hero South America, leader of the struggle for the independence of the American colonies from Spain. At that time, the general was just liberating Peru, and in 1825 he became the head of the Republic of Bolivia, named in his honor.
Bolivar's supporters wore wide-brimmed hats, which made their way into European fashion in the 1810s. Their fields, as the everyday life writer Mikhail Pylyaev mentioned, often turned out to be so wide that it was impossible to pass through the narrow door. However, already in 1825, the fashionable Moscow magazine “Moscow Telegraph” wrote that bolivars were losing popularity. So the author dressed Onegin exactly according to the fashion of the early 1820s. And besides, he hinted at his political sympathies.
Breguet watch
Elena Samokish-Sudkovskaya. Illustration for the novel “Eugene Onegin” by Alexander Pushkin. Published by R. Golike and A. Vilborg, 1908
And there he walks in the open space,
While the watchful Breget
Dinner won't ring his bell.
The dandy Onegin did not need to take his watch out of his pocket to look at the dial - he just had to put his hand inside, press the spring, and the watch would ring the time. This feature of repeater watches (as they said then, “with rehearsal”), in particular those produced by Breguet, made them practically synonymous with alarm clocks. Pushkin mentioned them several times in the text: before dinner, “the stomach is our faithful breget” hinted to the heroes about the time of the meal; before the performance, “the ringing of the Breguet conveys to them that a new ballet has begun.”
The founder of the Breguet company was watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet. Swiss by birth, he opened his first store in 1775 in Paris. Bregets were famous not only for their accuracy, but also for the fact that no two models were the same. The buyer could be sure that no one else had the exact same watch as his. Now the Breguet brand is one of the oldest surviving brands.
Breguet began to explore the Russian market in 1801, and already in 1808 a representative office of the fashion company opened in St. Petersburg. Among the fans of the brand were the princes Golitsyn, Gagarin, Yusupov and even Emperor Alexander I. Breguet also “gave” his character Alexander Pushkin.
It is curious that the buyers of Breguet products - educated aristocrats - of course knew the correct pronunciation French surname. However, the name of the company entered the Russian language in a literal reading - with the letter “t” at the end. Besides, it was more convenient to rhyme this way.
Restaurant Talona
Dmitry Belyukin. Illustration for the novel “Eugene Onegin” by Alexander Pushkin. Publishing house "St. Andrew's Flag", 2002
He rushed to Talon: he is sure
What is Kaverin waiting for him there?
Pushkin doesn’t just send his hero to dine at Talon’s - he also puts a special footnote to his surname with the text “famous restaurateur” so that the reader is sure to pay attention to this surname. Perhaps Talon gave the poet a discount for this?
After all, Pushkin could have sent Onegin, for example, to Mr. Andrieu’s establishment at 15 Malaya Morskaya, where, according to Thaddeus Bulgarin, officials and ministers “had lunch.” Pushkin himself visited this restaurant several times, and it was there that he met Georges Dantes.
However, the poet chose Pierre Talon's fashionable restaurant on Nevsky Prospekt for Onegin. The restaurant occupied Kosikowski's house near the Police Bridge. Here, according to the same Bulgarin, it was possible to “fully satisfy your gastronomic needs.” And indeed, Pushkin gives a whole list of popular dishes of this restaurant - roast-beef, truffles, Strasbourg pie with pate.
At the beginning of 1825, Talon advertised in newspapers that he was returning to France. True, immediately after his departure, another French restaurant opened in the premises - Feuillet. Pushkin visited there too.
Pistol "Lepage"
Ilya Repin. Duel of Onegin and Lensky. Illustration for the novel “Eugene Onegin” by Alexander Pushkin. 1899. All-Russian Museum A.S. Pushkin
We rushed over. He tells the servant
Lepage fatal trunks
Carry him...
And here again Pushkin puts a separate note on the Lepage brand, which reads: “Glorious gunsmith.” Master Lepage was truly “glorious.” The Le Page rifle company (later Fauré Le Page) was founded in Paris back in 1717 and remained in the hands of the same family for almost 200 years - until 1913. The founder of the company was named Louis Pigny, but he bequeathed the business to his niece's husband Pierre Lepage, and it was under this name that the brand became famous throughout Europe. The company had many clients, including some of the most upper strata society - they supplied weapons to both the French king Louis XV and the famous commander Moritz of Saxony.
Pushkin is already talking about his contemporary Jean Lepage (Pierre's nephew). Several rulers of France ordered weapons from him: Louis XVI, Napoleon (first consul, then emperor), Louis XVIII. Even during the Great french revolution Lepage could not do without it - during the storming of the Bastille and the July Revolution of 1830, his weapons were distributed to the people.
And Lensky “chose” pistols for the duel from a company that produced high-quality and luxurious weapons. Alexander Pushkin himself had the same ones. It is believed that a pair of pistols were made for Pushkin on his order shortly before the duel with Dantes.