Marie-Antoinette's Watch

franc 91

The other day we went to visit the Petit Trianon in the grounds of the Château de Versailles. It was, until she was taken to Paris to be executed, the home of Marie-Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI. It has recently been restored through the sponsorship and generosity of the Swiss watchmakers Breguet, though I was at a loss to know why exactly. I have since found out that they supplied her and her family and I have since discovered the amazing story of the Marie-Antoinette watch. In spite of the fact that it carries her name, it wasn't originally intended for her and in fact she never saw it as it took so long to make. Abraham-Louis Breguet (founder of the Breguet company) died before it was completed and it fell to his son to continue the work on it. In the meantime the French Revolution occurred and so Marie-Antoinette had already been executed. It eventually found its way into a museum in Jerusalem from where it was stolen. This prompted the late Nicolas Hayek of Montres Breguet to attempt to create a replica, which took about three and a half years to complete. For it, they were supplied with wood taken from Marie-Antoinette's favourite oaktree which had survived up till then for 324 years. The original has since been recovered and has been returned to the museum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham-Louis_Breguet
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/The_man_who_changed_time.html?cid=31333800
http://www.breguet.com/fr/Montre-Marie-Antoinette#1

blindsider

Well, a Breguet was good enough for Dr Stephen Maturin, so why not Marie-Antoinette?

Great story!

franc 91

Here's an insight into how they did it - though I'm afraid some of this isn't in English so mes excuses for those who don't have French -
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xnr31j_marie-antoinette-watch_creation