This spring, one of the most important horological creations of the late twentieth century returns to public view. As part of The Geneva Watch Auction: XXI taking place on May 10 and 11, Phillips will offer the Breguet Sympathique No. 1, the first of twenty exceptional clocks commissioned by Breguet in the early 1990s.

Completed in 1991 for the Art of Breguet exhibition, No. 1 is not just the prototype of the modern Sympathique series, it is its most ambitious. The example, paired with a tourbillon wristwatch, is equipped with a constant-force remontoir and moonphase display. In retrospect, it reads as a mechanical manifesto, foreshadowing Journe’s later independent work. More than a highlight of its upcoming sale, No. 1 represents a rare continuation of one of watchmaking’s great inventions, a direct link to Abraham-Louis Breguet himself.

Detail of Sympathique no. 1

Of Breguet’s many breakthroughs, from the tourbillon to the pare-chute, none captured the marriage of mechanical brilliance and poetic vision quite like the Pendule Sympathique. Designed to wind, set, and regulate a paired watch automatically, it embodied a new kind of horological harmony: a master timekeeper caring for its portable counterpart.

The calendar on Sympathique no. 1

By the late 20th century, these clocks had become near-mythical. Only a handful were ever built, most housed in royal collections or museum holdings. Admired for their elegance and ingenuity, they had not been seriously revived, until Francois-Paul Journe. Initially commissioned by Asprey to create a modern version, Journe reimagined the Sympathique beyond just a reproduction, but as a refined evolution. The result was a new expression of Breguet’s idea, realised with contemporary mechanics and signature precision.

Now, after more than 30 years in private hands, Sympathique No. 1 resurfaces. It is a bridge between centuries, from Breguet’s pioneering work of 1795 to its 1991 resurrection by one of modern horology’s most respected independent minds.

Significance in Horological History

Sketch of the hand-setting mechanism actioned by the Sympathique. Image – Maison Breguet

Few inventions in the history of watchmaking have left such a deep imprint on both the imagination of collectors and the development of horological thinking as Breguet’s pendule sympathique. Conceived in the final years of the eighteenth century, it was not just a technical achievement but a redefinition of what a timekeeping object could be.

Breguet envisioned something far beyond the standard clock or watch: a closed mechanical ecosystem in which a master clock could not only indicate the time but automatically maintain the performance of a paired watch, winding, setting, and in its most advanced form, regulating it to a higher standard of accuracy.

In an era when even the finest pocket watches required daily winding and frequent resetting, the notion of a self-correcting system, one timekeeper caring for another, bordered on the fantastical. This concept of mechanical symbiosis is anticipated not just by later horological developments but also by future conversations around automation, precision, and interconnectivity. And though the mechanism itself was extraordinarily complex, Breguet’s idea was conceptually clear: perfection maintained not by constant human intervention, but by design.

To his contemporaries, the effect was theatrical as much as functional. At a predetermined hour each night, the clock would silently engage with its companion watch, adjust the hands, fine-tune the rate and, in its most sophisticated expressions, wind the mainspring. This daily ritual, hidden within an elegant mantel clock, was at once a feat of engineering and a performance of mastery.

The hand engraved solid gold case of Sympathique no. 1

It was no surprise that such objects became the domain of monarchs and ministers. Napoleon arranged for one to be gifted to Sultan Mahmud II of the Ottoman Empire; George IV of Britain installed his in Carlton House; and multiple examples entered the palaces of the Russian and Spanish courts. These were not commercial products, nor could they have been: they were mechanical tributes to science and status, built for the uppermost tier of society.

Yet even beyond their clientele, the Sympathique clocks became artefacts of philosophy, expressions of Enlightenment confidence in the power of reason and craft. Breguet had already changed the landscape of horology with the tourbillon and the pare-chute shock absorber; with the Sympathique, he changed how horologists could think.

George Daniels famously described the Sympathique as “misplaced ingenuity,” but his remark, intended partly in jest, acknowledged that the clock’s true purpose was wonder. These were not tools of everyday life; they were statements about what mechanical timekeeping might aspire to.

And yet, tellingly, while Breguet’s successors did continue to produce Sympathique clocks, most notably the extraordinary No. 128 for the Duc d’Orléans in 1836, no other maker outside the Breguet atelier attempted to recreate the system for over a century. The concept remained bound to the maison that conceived it, carried forward by artisans who had inherited its logic directly.

Only in the late twentieth century did François-Paul Journe, working first through a pair of Asprey commissions and later under contract with Breguet, undertake a true reinvention of the Sympathique principle. That this revival required years of experimentation and one of the finest modern minds in horology is perhaps the clearest measure of how advanced and how singular Breguet’s original vision had been.

Today, thirteen Sympathique clocks are known with certainty, a possible fourteenth remains debated. Most are housed in the world’s great collections, the British Museum, the Royal Collection, the Topkapı Palace, the Breguet Museum in Paris, and each is admired not only for its mechanical intricacy but for the idea it represents: that time, properly understood, could be measured, corrected, and refined by machines alone.

That belief, ambitious, poetic, and exquisitely challenging to realise, is what makes the Sympathique more than a clock. It is Breguet’s most complete vision of horological perfection.

The cylindrical hairspring in Sympathique no. 1

Royal and Notable Owners

The history of the Pendule Sympathique is inseparable from the history of its owners. From its earliest days, the Sympathique clock was not merely a technical triumph but an object destined for royalty, empire, and the highest circles of European nobility. Its cost, its complexity, and above all its symbolic weight ensured that each example entered a world of palaces, diplomatic gifts, and personal collections that reflected both power and taste.

The Spanish Bourbon court was among the first to embrace Breguet’s mechanical innovations. In 1796, Queen María Luisa of Spain commissioned “la péndola que pone el Relox a la hora”, the clock that sets the time of the watch, leading to the creation of Sympathique No. 46, delivered in 1799 and likely placed in the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. This was the earliest confirmed Sympathique delivered by Breguet, marking the start of a lasting relationship with the Spanish crown.

Political upheaval soon followed. With the abdication of Charles IV and Joseph Bonaparte’s rise to the throne in 1808, No. 421/3, originally meant for the Bourbons, was delivered to the new regime. After the Bourbon restoration in 1814, a third Sympathique, No. 247, entered the collection under Ferdinand VII. Each clock mirrors a different chapter in Spanish political life: enlightened monarchy, Napoleonic rule, and royal restoration. Though largely unseen today, Nos. 46 and 247 are believed to be held in the Spanish Patrimonio Nacional.

Czar Nicholas I, portrait by Georg von Bothmann, 1855. Image – Wikipedia

No dynasty acquired more Sympathique clocks than the Romanovs. Emperor Alexander I of Russia became one of Breguet’s most prominent clients, acquiring Sympathique No. 423 in 1809 and No. 757 in 1810. Likely housed in the imperial palaces of St. Petersburg, both clocks reflected the Russian court’s enthusiasm for horology as a symbol of scientific and political progress.

In 1830, Prince Anatole Demidoff commissioned No. 430 with watch No. 2787. Adorned with enamel panels, the clock was gifted to Tsar Nicholas I and later passed to Grand Duke Mikhail. Known as la sympathie de midi for resetting its watch precisely at noon, it remains one of the best-documented examples. The final link came in 1875, when Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich received No. 222, the last known original Sympathique. Its late commission underscores the lasting imperial reverence for Breguet’s mechanical artistry.

In 1812, as France worked to strengthen ties with the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Mahmud II received Sympathique No. 758 as a diplomatic gift from the French government. Delivered through the embassy, the clock was part of a broader campaign of cultural diplomacy. Unlike other surviving Sympathiques, No. 758 was tailored for its recipient. Contemporary records and photos confirm its Ottoman-specific design: enamel landscape inlays, Turkish numerals, and a silver guilloché dial. Though the original watch (No. 407) is lost, the clock survives in the Topkapı Palace Museum in Istanbul, the only known Sympathique housed outside Europe. Its presence there reflects horology’s role in diplomacy and cultural exchange.

The British monarchy’s connection to Breguet began with King George III, who acquired some of the watchmaker’s finest pieces, including an early tourbillon. This legacy continued with the Prince Regent, later George IV, who in 1814 purchased Sympathique No. 666 and its companion watch No. 507. Housed in a plain mahogany case, the clock was installed at Carlton House and praised as “probably the most complicated clock in the world.” A passionate patron of science and design, George IV’s ownership reflected both personal taste and Britain’s embrace of technical elegance. Today, No. 666 remains in the Royal Collection, fully preserved and exhibited as a highlight of the monarchy’s horological heritage.

Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans, portrait by Ingres, 1842. Image – Wikipedia

Among all Sympathique owners, none commissioned a piece as complex or artistically ambitious as Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans. In 1836, he ordered Sympathique No. 128, the only completed Type C example from Breguet’s original production, capable of winding, setting, and regulating watch No. 5009. Its Empire-style case by Guillaume Denière and advanced mechanism reflected the Duke’s taste for technical artistry. Installed at the Pavillon de Marsan in Paris, No. 128 would later break auction records twice, confirming its status as the most renowned Sympathique ever made.

By 1845, Breguet’s clientele had broadened beyond royal courts to include the rising financial elite. Edward Baring, later Baron Revelstoke, acquired Sympathique No. 257, a clock that maintained the system’s core functions while omitting the ornate flourishes of earlier royal commissions. More restrained in design, No. 257 marked a shift in the Sympathique’s role: from a courtly symbol of power to a prized object of private connoisseurship in a new era of capitalist collecting.

No account of the Sympathique’s royal history is complete without Napoleon. Though he never owned one, his influence runs through their story. His brother Joseph received No. 421/3 as King of Spain; his government arranged the gifting of No. 758 to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire; and relatives like Queen Hortense were regular Breguet clients. While not a patron himself, Napoleon’s imperial reach helped spread the Sympathique across three continents.

Design and Mechanism: The Evolution of the Sympathique

Setting and regulating of watch No. 2787 associated with clock No. 430 (page 352). Image – George Daniels in “The Art of Breguet”

The evolution of the pendule sympathique from its origins in the 1790s to the final examples of the nineteenth century reflects Abraham-Louis Breguet’s relentless ingenuity and the changing tastes and expectations of his clientele. What began as an austere exercise in mechanical autonomy, a clock that could automatically correct a paired watch, gradually developed into one of the most complex and symbolically resonant artefacts of horological art.

At the core of the Sympathique lay a radical idea: a stationary clock would act as caretaker to a portable watch, performing a sequence of corrections at a predetermined hour. The system would automatically set the hands of the watch, wind its mainspring, and, in its most advanced iterations, fine-tune its rate. This closed, nightly cycle of recalibration anticipated the principles of automated synchronisation long before radio signals, GPS, or digital regulation emerged. The concept was ambitious; the execution, extraordinary.

Regulating pawls on watch No. 2787 associated with clock No. 430 (page 353). Image – George Daniels in “The Art of Breguet”

Breguet’s earliest Sympathiques were defined by functional restraint. These clocks typically displayed only hours, minutes, and sometimes seconds, while their most remarkable feature, automatic hand-setting, remained hidden. A prime example is No. 666, delivered in 1814 to the Prince Regent of Britain. Housed in a mahogany case of plain design, it concealed a constant-force escapement and the essential mechanism that allowed the clock to detect and realign the hands of a specially prepared watch. These early models, later designated Type A, focused on synchronisation alone. At a set time, typically in the early morning, the clock’s linkage engaged the watch’s setting squares, adjusted the minute hand, and restarted the movement, all without user intervention.

Although Breguet described in 1798 a system that would also wind the watch, the integration of this function remained unrealised during the earliest phase of production. It was only under the direction of his son, Antoine-Louis Breguet, that the Sympathique evolved into what would later be known as Type B. By the 1830s, a second generation of clocks incorporated automatic winding via a gear train driven by the striking barrel. This train connected to a vertical arbour aligned with the watch’s winding square. Once the mainspring was fully tensioned, a disengaging mechanism within the watch prevented overwinding. These refinements signalled a shift in ambition: the Sympathique was no longer simply correcting time, but actively maintaining power.

Setting and winding system controlled by the clock (page 357). Image – George Daniels in “The Art of Breguet”

The apex of this evolution came with the creation of Sympathique No. 128, completed in 1836 and sold to Ferdinand Philippe, Duc d’Orléans. This extraordinary ensemble, the only example of what has been termed Type C delivered to a client, achieved full tri-functionality: setting, winding, and regulation. In this final step, the parent clock not only powered and aligned the watch but also adjusted its rate by moving the regulator arm linked to the watch’s balance spring. The sequence was triggered by a shaped cam and lever mechanism that activated precisely at 3:00 a.m., performing a mechanical ballet of engagement, correction, and withdrawal. It was one of the earliest documented mechanical feedback systems in horology, and remains unmatched for elegance and ingenuity.

Such mechanical sophistication required equally rigorous safeguards. Breguet devised intricate locking systems to ensure that the docked watch was perfectly seated before activation. His patented parachute shock protection shielded the balance from mechanical trauma during docking. Internally, the clocks were equipped with high-grade escapements, often constant-force or dead-beat, that preserved their superior rate, ensuring the parent instrument remained an unerring reference for the child.

Stop work system in the watch (page 360). Image – George Daniels in “The Art of Breguet”

The aesthetic evolution of the Sympathique ran in parallel with its mechanical advances. Early clocks favoured functional austerity: mahogany and plain gilt bronze cases, simple classical lines, and silvered dials with guilloché centres. As Breguet’s clientele shifted from Enlightenment monarchs to Restoration and July Monarchy aristocrats, the external design became more ornate. The Duc d’Orléans’ clock, No. 128, exemplifies this transformation: its Empire-style case in red tortoiseshell and brass boulle marquetry was framed by gilded bronzes and crowned with his monogram. It merged the theatricality of courtly display with the logic of technical mastery.

This diversification of form was not purely decorative. Between 1800 and 1830, Breguet produced Sympathiques in multiple formats, from travel-sized pendules de voyage to monumental mantel clocks suited for palatial display. Materials included rosewood, enamel, rock crystal, and tortoiseshell; dials ranged from plain enamel to those featuring complications such as full calendars, moonphases, or equation of time. In the case of No. 128, the certificate of sale even described it as a pendule sympathique à quantième de mois, signalling the addition of a monthly calendar function.

Though the number of Sympathiques completed was small, fewer than fourteen across more than seventy years, each reveals something about the ambitions of its time. By 1875, the final known numbered example, No. 222, was delivered to Grand Duke Konstantin of Russia. Though executed under Breguet’s successors, it preserved the core principles laid out in the 1790s. That the concept endured so long, and in so pure a form, is a testament to its extraordinary clarity.

Louis Raby and the Realisation of the Sympathique Mechanism

Pocket Watch No. 10360, 2365 by Louis Raby. Image – Morphy Auctions

Behind every major horological breakthrough stands not only the visionary but also the craftsman who brings the idea to life. For Breguet’s Pendule Sympathique, that figure was Louis Raby, one of Breguet’s most gifted and trusted collaborators. Trained within the atelier and celebrated during his lifetime as l’un de ses meilleurs ouvriers, Raby played a vital role in transforming the Sympathique from concept to working reality.

While little is known of Raby’s early life, he had, by the early 1800s, earned a place among Breguet’s top workmen. His contributions extended to many of the workshop’s most complex projects, but none more critically than the Sympathique. Though first demonstrated in 1798, the system’s true mechanical realisation required years of refinement, especially in developing a reliable setting and winding mechanism for the paired clock and watch.

By 1812, Raby had achieved a breakthrough. The clock now known as Sympathique No. 5 was the first to not only set a watch’s hands but also wind its mainspring. The clock was signed “Raby à Paris,” while the watch bore Breguet’s name, a rare division of credit and an explicit acknowledgement of Raby’s indispensable role.

Raby’s solution involved a dual-trigger system that set the hands and adjusted the rate via a regulating arm linked to the watch’s balance spring. The mechanism activated automatically, reportedly twice daily, synchronising the watch to the master clock with elegant mechanical precision. Though later Sympathiques would build on this, Raby had already laid the technical foundation.

After Breguet’s death in 1823, Raby opened his own workshop on the Boulevard des Italiens. He famously displayed a Sympathique clock in his window, drawing crowds with its self-setting, self-winding function. Among horologists of the time, Raby was seen not just as Breguet’s executor but as a creative mind in his own right.

Later named Horloger de l’Empereur under Napoleon III, Raby’s status was formally recognised, but it is his work on the Sympathique that defines his legacy. Without his ingenuity, Breguet’s vision might have remained a theoretical marvel. Instead, thanks to Raby, it became a functional expression of mechanical autonomy.

The Sympathique Clocks During Breguet’s Lifetime (1795–1823)

Across a span of nearly three decades, from the late 1790s until his death in 1823, Abraham-Louis Breguet would produce, or oversee the production of, the handful of Sympathique clocks that survive to this day. Their creation spanned the most fertile period of Breguet’s career, during which the Sympathique embodied not only his mastery of horology but also his role as an inventor. It is to these original examples, the clocks made within Breguet’s own lifetime and under his direct supervision, that the following section is dedicated. The history of the Sympathique after 1823, and its continuation under the Maison Breguet and later generations, forms a separate chapter in the story of these remarkable objects.

Sympathique No. 46 — Queen María Luisa of Spain
Delivered 1799 – Current Whereabouts Unknown

The earliest known Sympathique clock delivered by Abraham-Louis Breguet was No. 46, commissioned in 1796 by Queen María Luisa of Spain and completed in 1799. As the first confirmed example of Breguet’s most ambitious horological invention, it marks the beginning of the Sympathique’s documented history.

Commissioned during Breguet’s post-Revolution return to prominence, the clock appealed to the Spanish court’s appreciation for French precision and innovation. It reflected Enlightenment ideals, a machine that didn’t just tell time but automatically corrected a paired watch, embodying precision, convenience, and scientific elegance.

Portrait of Maria Luisa of Spain (1745-1792), Holy Roman Empress. Image – Wikipedia

No images or technical diagrams survive, but contemporary accounts confirm it included Breguet’s early system for automatic hand-setting and possibly rate regulation. Automatic winding was likely absent at this stage. Auction literature mentions an inscription noting it as the “first model of the constant-force escapement by Breguet,” suggesting it was technically advanced for its time.

Delivered during a politically turbulent period, No. 46 entered the Spanish royal collection just before the Bourbon monarchy was overthrown. Its fate remains unknown, but its legacy endures. It was the first realised expression of Breguet’s vision, a foundation upon which the entire Sympathique lineage would be built.

Sympathique No. 757 — Emperor Alexander I of Russia
Completed 1803; Sold 1810 – British Museum, London

Among the earliest Sympathique clocks completed by Abraham-Louis Breguet, No. 757 stands out for its technical ambition and complex afterlife. Completed in 1803 and sold in 1810 for 8,000 francs, it was delivered to the Russian Imperial Court under Emperor Alexander I, with pocket watch No. 528, via the intermediary Moreau.

Sympathique No. 757. Image – The British Museum

At the time of its completion, No. 757 represented a significant technical leap in Breguet’s development of the Sympathique, incorporating a constant-force escapement and twin spring-barrels to sustain precision over extended intervals, a clear expression of his growing commitment to mechanical autonomy and chronometric refinement.

Sympathique companion watch No. 528. Image – The British Museum

But No. 757 also reveals the fragility of such masterpieces. By the early 20th century, it had fallen into disrepair. Acquired around 1925 by London watchmaker Louis Desoutter from the Stauffer family, the clock was fragmentary, its original watch lost, and its setting mechanism degraded.

Desoutter attempted a restoration, replacing the twin barrels with larger spring housings to increase the clock’s running time from 36 hours to eight days, a practical, if controversial, alteration. He also reconstructed parts of the regulating mechanism and built a replacement watch to fit the cradle, though its fidelity to Breguet’s original remains uncertain.

View of Sympathique movement of No. 757. Image – George Daniels in “The Art of Breguet”

Desoutter’s death left the project unfinished. George Daniels later described the piece as a torso, partially restored but lacking the full integrity of the original concept. The clock was subsequently acquired by C.A. Ilbert, who preserved it without further intervention. In 1958, it entered the British Museum, where it remains today.

Sympathique No. 421/3 — Joseph Bonaparte / Charles V of Spain
Completed 1808; Watch c.1830 – Beyer Museum, Zürich

The first Sympathique clock recorded as delivered by Abraham-Louis Breguet was No. 46, completed in 1799 for Queen María Luisa of Spain. However, the earliest surviving and fully documented example is No. 421/3, now held at the Beyer Clock and Watch Museum in Zürich. Commissioned for Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon’s elder brother and King of Spain from 1808 to 1813, this clock represents the transition from Breguet’s concept to working reality.

Sympathique No. 421/3. Image – Beyer Watch and Clock Museum, Zurich

Although first demonstrated publicly in 1798, the Sympathique system took years to perfect. Breguet later described it as one of his most complex technical challenges. Conceived around 1795 and delivered around 1808, No. 421/3 stands as a milestone in the pursuit of mechanical autonomy.

The clock’s design reflects Breguet’s early aesthetic: a rectangular mahogany case with glazed sides and discreet gilt bronze trim. Its silvered guilloché dial displays hours, minutes, and seconds, topped with a recessed cradle for a specially made pocket watch.

Once docked, the watch would be automatically set by the clock’s mechanism, typically at midnight or 3 a.m. The original watch is believed to have been added around 1830, and the set today includes a correctly configured Breguet watch that interfaces with the cradle.

Unlike later Sympathiques such as No. 5 or No. 128, No. 421/3 lacks automatic winding or rate regulation. Its sole function, precise nightly hand-setting, was itself a remarkable achievement for the time. To its owner, it offered both convenience and a sense of horological theatre.

Initially commissioned for Joseph Bonaparte, the clock was later associated with Charles V of Spain. Its eventual appearance at a 1994 auction and subsequent acquisition by the Beyer Museum in Zurich cemented its place as one of the most accessible and thoroughly documented Sympathiques in existence.

Sympathique No. 423/5 — Tsar Alexander I of Russia
Completed and Sold 1809 – Breguet Museum, Paris

The fourth Sympathique clock completed by Abraham-Louis Breguet is No. 423/5, commissioned by Tsar Alexander I of Russia and sold in 1809. Paired with watch No. 533, the ensemble reflected the growing maturity of the Sympathique concept and affirmed Breguet’s presence at the heart of Europe’s diplomatic and scientific elite.

By the early 1800s, Alexander I had become a key client of Breguet. The Russian court, with its appreciation for advanced instruments and deepening ties to Napoleonic France, proved a receptive audience for such mechanical expressions of innovation. The delivery of No. 423/5 reinforced that connection, preceding the more complex No. 757.

Sympathique No. 423/5. Image – Maison Breguet

Initially, the clock likely followed Breguet’s standard architectural mantel format: a mahogany case with glazed sides, restrained ormolu detailing, and a silvered guilloché dial indicating hours, minutes, and seconds. A recessed cradle atop the case housed the paired watch, specially adapted to receive the clock’s corrective functions.

Functionally, No. 423/5 performed two primary Sympathique operations: automatic hand-setting and rate regulation. Automatic winding had not yet been incorporated. The reset sequence was typically triggered during the night, aligning the portable watch to the clock’s superior timekeeping via a concealed mechanical linkage.

However, the clock has not survived intact. Only partial elements of the original movement and case were confirmed when it appeared at auction, and the paired watch is no longer extant. Despite its compromised state, No. 423/5 remains a historically important piece, documenting Breguet’s early efforts to synchronise portable and fixed timekeepers in a courtly context.

Sympathique No. 758 — Sultan Mahmud II of the Ottoman Empire
Delivered 1812 – Topkapı Palace Museum, Istanbul

In 1813, as France sought to reinforce ties with the Ottoman Empire, Breguet’s atelier delivered one of its most symbolically potent creations: Sympathique No. 758, a gift from the French government to Sultan Mahmud II. Valued at 35,000 francs, it was sold to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and now resides in the Topkapı Palace Museum in Istanbul, one of the few Sympathique clocks still in its original royal collection.

The commission formed part of Napoleon’s broader campaign of cultural diplomacy. Appointed Breguet’s official patron, he recognised the symbolic power of precision instruments. For the reform-minded Mahmud II, deeply interested in Western science, the Sympathique was an ideal offering, a clock capable of correcting a paired watch automatically, embodying both prestige and modernity.

Sympathique No. 758. Image – Topkapı Palace Museum

No. 758 is richly adorned: a bronze case with enamel landscape inlays, precious stones, and a silvered guilloché dial bearing Turkish numerals and subsidiary seconds. Inside, a constant-force escapement ensured chronometric precision. Measuring 335 x 190 mm, the piece exemplified Ottoman appreciation for refined technical and artistic craftsmanship.

Originally paired with pocket watch No. 407, designed to dock on top of the clock for daily time correction, the ensemble is now incomplete, the watch lost. Archival references suggest it featured a silver dial, Turkish numerals, and blued Breguet hands, reflecting Ottoman tastes of the period. Like its contemporaries, No. 758 used Breguet’s perfected hand-setting mechanism, activated around 3:00 a.m., to align the watch’s time to the clock’s rate automatically. 

According to reports, Mahmud II was so impressed that he appointed Breguet’s representative in Constantinople to oversee the palace’s entire clock collection. This honour underscored Breguet’s international stature and the power of horology in diplomacy.

Sympathique No. 5 — Louis Rabi’s Experimental Execution
Started 1812 – Possibly Unsold Prototype; Now in the Salomons Collection, Islamic Art Museum, Jerusalem

Within the lineage of Sympathique clocks developed by Abraham-Louis Breguet, No. 5 holds a unique place as an experimental milestone.

Sympathique No. 5. Image – Museum of Islamic Art, Jerusalem

Begun in 1812, it bears the imprint of Louis Raby’s ingenuity and represents the earliest known attempt to construct a Sympathique capable of setting, regulating, and winding a watch automatically.

Though these functions would only be perfected later in the Duc d’Orléans clock (No. 128), No. 5 marks the first operational step toward full mechanical autonomy.

Front side view of Sympathique movement of No. 5. Image – George Daniels in “The Art of Breguet”

Unlike the royal Sympathiques delivered to Spain, Russia, or the Ottoman Empire, No. 5 appears to have remained within Breguet’s workshop. Its precise role, prototype, demonstration piece, or in-house model, remains unclear, but its importance is unquestionable.

It is the first surviving example to attempt full integration of autonomous functions, reflecting Raby’s contributions during his tenure with Breguet. The clock movement, signed “Raby à Paris,” and its matching watch, signed “Breguet,” show a rare dual attribution, acknowledging Raby as a craftsman and as a co-creator.

Sympathique companion watch of No. 5. Image – George Daniels in “The Art of Breguet”

Its regulating system used a cam-driven mechanism to adjust the docked watch’s hands and fine-tune its rate via a balance-linked arm, an early feedback system allowing the portable watch to inherit the clock’s precision.

Even more notably, No. 5 introduced the first attempt at automatic winding in a Sympathique: a train powered by the striking barrel engaged a concealed arbour on the back of the watch. Sir David Salomons, who catalogued the piece, confirmed that both winding and setting functions operated effectively and called it a “complete system of mechanical autonomy.” Safety features prevented overwinding, underscoring Ray’s foresight.

Front and back view of the Sympathique companion watch movement of No. 5. Image – George Daniels in “The Art of Breguet”

Compact in scale, the clock stands just 15 cm tall, far smaller than the more theatrical royal commissions, and was likely designed as an internal study in mechanical refinement rather than display. Today, No. 5 resides in the L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem, part of the Salomons Collection. Its survival, alongside another Sympathique from the same collection, stands as a testament to the private preservation of Breguet’s most ambitious ideas during a time of waning institutional interest.

Sympathique No. 666 — Prince Regent (George IV of Britain)
Completed and Sold 1814 – Royal Collection, United Kingdom

Among the Sympathique clocks completed during Breguet’s lifetime, No. 666 exemplifies both continuity and innovation. It retained the system’s core functions, daily hand-setting and regulation, while introducing refinements such as a floating balance, gold helical hairspring, and improved remontoire. Rather than a fixed formula, the design reflects Breguet’s ongoing pursuit of precision.

Sympathique No. 666. Image – Royal Collection Trust, United Kingdom

Delivered in 1814 to the Prince Regent of Britain (later George IV), No. 666 is one of the best-documented Sympathiques from Breguet’s hand. Housed in a mahogany case and paired with watch No. 507, the clock was acquired for 11,500 francs, reflecting both its technical ambition and elite status. Displayed at Carlton House, it drew contemporary praise as “probably the most complicated clock in the world.”

Sympathique No. 666 companion watch. Image – Royal Collection Trust, United Kingdom

The clock followed Breguet’s perfected system of daily synchronisation: the user placed the watch in the cradle, the clock stopped the movement, adjusted the hands, and restarted it, aligning the portable timekeeper with the master clock. While No. 666 lacked a full automatic winding system, attempted earlier in No. 5 and perfected in No. 128, it advanced the setting mechanism with precision-focused upgrades, including a remontoire and refined escapement components.

The result was both functional and poetic: each morning, a passive watch emerged fully synchronised, the product of unseen mechanical harmony. Today, No. 666 remains in the Royal Collection Trust, preserved as a matched clock and watch, a rarity, and exhibited in modern times, including George IV: Art & Spectacle, where its mechanical and diplomatic importance was prominently celebrated.

Sympathique No. 247 — King Ferdinand VII of Spain
Completed and Sold 1814 – Current Whereabouts Unknown (Presumed in the Spanish Royal Collection)

Among the final Sympathique clocks completed during Breguet’s lifetime, No. 247 holds both political and horological significance. Delivered in 1814 to King Ferdinand VII of Spain after the Bourbon restoration, it symbolised a return to dynastic continuity and reestablished Spain’s historical patronage of Breguet.

The Spanish crown had been among Breguet’s earliest royal clients, with Queen María Luisa commissioning No. 46 in 1796. This relationship was disrupted during Napoleon’s occupation, when Joseph Bonaparte acquired No. 421/3. With Ferdinand VII’s return, Breguet once again supplied a Sympathique to the Spanish monarchy, reinforcing the link between royal power and technological refinement.

Portrait of Ferdinand VII of Spain by Francisco Goya (1815), Prado. Image – Wikipedia

Like its contemporaries, No. 247 was likely housed in a mahogany or ormolu-mounted case with glazed panels and featured Breguet’s perfected system for daily hand-setting and rate regulation. The paired watch, specially designed for the cradle mechanism, would have synchronised with the clock at a fixed hour. While automatic winding remained rare at the time, it’s unlikely No. 247 included this function.

No. 247 was a gesture of symbolic renewal. Commissioning such a piece reinforced Ferdinand VII’s courtly legitimacy and affirmed Spain’s place among the elite clientele of Europe’s foremost horologist. Though not publicly exhibited today, No. 247 is believed to remain in the Spanish Royal Collection, where it is cited in archival records as a significant example of Breguet’s influence at the intersection of science, monarchy, and craftsmanship.

Sympathique No. 430 — Prince Anatole Demidoff / Tsar Nicholas I of Russia
Completed and Delivered 1830 – Currently in a Private Collection

Sympathique No. 430, delivered in 1830 to Prince Anatole Demidoff, is among the most ornate and diplomatically significant of Breguet’s Sympathique clocks. A Russian industrialist and Napoleon’s nephew by marriage, Demidoff bridged Russian affluence and French cultural influence, making him an ideal patron for Breguet’s refined mechanical artistry.

Sympathique No. 430. Image – Maison Breguet

Paired with watch No. 2787, the clock was later listed in the 19th-century San Donato sale catalogue. It was described as a pendule sympathique à cage with four gilt bronze columns, enamel landscape inlays, and a crescent cradle holding a repeater watch.

The ensemble performed its daily resetting at noon, la sympathie de midi, offering a ritual of precision that delighted its contemporaries. While the watch could function independently, its synchronisation with the clock exemplified the harmonious logic of the Sympathique system. Though it did not feature automatic winding, No. 430 integrated hand-setting and rate regulation with striking aesthetic and mechanical grace.

Dial and movement back view of the Sympathique companion watch movement No. 2787 of clock No. 430. Image – George Daniels in “The Art of Breguet”

Grand Duke Mikhail of Russia acquired No. 430 at the San Donato sale for 4,000 francs, a testament to Breguet’s enduring status among Europe’s elite. Whether kept privately or on behalf of the Imperial Court remains unknown, but the acquisition reaffirmed Russia’s historical connection to Breguet’s most sophisticated inventions. 

The current whereabouts of No. 430 are uncertain, yet its detailed 19th-century descriptions allow us to reconstruct both its appearance and role. A clock made in Paris, decorated in Florence, and acquired by Russian royalty, it stands as a cosmopolitan artefact, a narrative of horological excellence crossing borders and generations.

The Maison Breguet After 1823 — Continuity, Transition, and Workshop Evolution

Breguet No. 1176 Tourbillon. Image – Maison Breguet

The death of Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1823 marked not an end but a transition. His son, Antoine-Louis, had already joined as a partner in 1807, ensuring continuity in both technical and commercial domains. After his father’s passing, Antoine-Louis upheld the maison’s reputation, though, by 1833, he passed control to his son, Louis Breguet. Unlike his forebears, Louis focused more on scientific and electrical research, laying the foundation for his later work in telecommunications and engineering.

With Louis shifting away from horology, the workshop’s leadership increasingly relied on senior workmasters, particularly the Weber family. Michael Weber, once Abraham-Louis’s right hand, and his descendants preserved the workshop’s high standards. Under their stewardship, the language of Breguet’s horology continued to be spoken fluently, even as the founder’s personal influence receded.

Meanwhile, the industry was changing. The rise of semi-industrial production in places like the Swiss Joux Valley and La Chaux-de-Fonds encouraged greater reliance on subcontractors and specialist suppliers. Breguet adapted pragmatically, sourcing escapements, ébauches, and complications from both former élèves and skilled external collaborators such as Fatton, Oudin, Raby, Tavernier, Jürgensen, and Kessels.

In this decentralised context, Sympathique production continued. Though the concept remained unchanged, a clock that could set, wind, and regulate a watch, its realisation relied on a network of skilled hands and inherited expertise. Figures like Louis Raby and the Webers maintained Breguet’s technical ideals while adapting to new production realities.

Rather than representing decline, this era demonstrated the Sympathique’s resilience. Clocks like No. 128 and No. 222 prove that the mechanical ideal Breguet envisioned, precision without intervention, endured, carried forward by artisans who understood that great inventions transcend their creators.

Sympathique No. 128 — Duc d’Orléans
Completed 1836 – Watch No. 5009 – The Only Known Type C Sympathique

Among all the Sympathique clocks bearing the Breguet name, none realises the concept with greater technical completeness than No. 128. Completed in 1836, thirteen years after Breguet’s death, and sold to Ferdinand Philippe, Duc d’Orléans, it marked the culmination of a horological idea first envisioned in the late eighteenth century.

While earlier prototypes like No. 5 explored hand-setting, rate regulation, and even winding, No. 128 remains the only known Type C Sympathique to integrate all three functions in a fully operational form. It is not just the most complex of the series, it is also the clearest embodiment of Breguet’s vision of mechanical autonomy.

Sympathique No. 128. Image – Christies

Encased in a grand ormolu-mounted tortoiseshell boulle mantel clock, No. 128 features quarter striking and rests on a sculptural base. The movement, built around a short pendulum and powered by a dedicated striking barrel, activates its synchronisation sequence at 3:00 a.m., performing three actions on the paired watch: winding, setting, and rate regulation.

Sympathique No. 128 companion watch. Image – Christies

Watch No. 5009 was purpose-built for the clock. It features a lever escapement, compensation balance, parachute shock protection, a half-quarter repeater, and a regulator-style dial with apertures showing rate and state of wind, both reset through the docking process. A concealed arbour and recessed contacts enable the clock to engage with the winding and setting mechanisms, hidden beneath a cover engraved with the Duc’s cypher.

The operation is precisely choreographed. A cam triggers the mechanism at the set hour. First, the winding arbour engages and powers the mainspring via a vertical shaft. A segment wheel tracks the turns and disengages once winding is complete. Next, a pin releases levers that adjust the watch hands. Finally, a regulating arm fine-tunes the balance to match the clock’s time. A locking mechanism then resets the sequence for the next cycle.

Sympathique No. 128 companion watch movement. Image – Christies

George Daniels, who restored the piece, believed the mechanism’s complexity and philosophical elegance suggested Breguet’s original authorship, even if completed posthumously. The numbering, clock No. 128 and watch No. 5009, reflects a post-1833 production, yet carries the intellectual DNA of the master.

The clock was delivered for 12,000 francs, one of the most expensive of its time. After the Duke’s death in 1842, it remained with the Orléans family until acquired by the Time Museum in Rockford in the 1970s. Restored by Daniels, it later set records at auction, selling for 2.8 million francs in 1989 and US$6.8 million in 2012, the highest ever paid for a clock.

Sympathique No. 257 — Edward Baring
Completed and Sold 1845 – Private Collection

Among the final Sympathique clocks produced in the nineteenth century stands No. 257, sold in 1845 to Edward Baring, a prominent London banker and future Baron Revelstoke. It is the only known Sympathique from Breguet’s original production delivered to a non-royal client, a sign of the system’s shift from royal commission to prized collector’s piece among Europe’s financial elite.

Sympathique No. 257. Image – private archive

Its 1845 delivery places it firmly in the post-Abraham-Louis Breguet era, when the firm had passed to Antoine-Louis and daily operations were managed by the Weber family. Likely completed by Breguet, Neveu et Compagnie, the clock reflects a moment when private connoisseurs began acquiring technical rarities once reserved for sovereigns.

View of the back of the movement of the Sympathique No. 257 clock. Image – private archive

Technically, No. 257 is believed to follow the standard Type B Sympathique configuration, automatically setting the hands and regulating the balance, but lacking the automatic winding perfected in No. 128. It represents a continuation of the functional refinements developed in the 1830s and 1840s, which are now applied to a civilian context.

View of the movement of the Sympathique No. 257 companion watch. Image – private archive

Its sale to a financier rather than a monarch marks a pivotal transition in the Sympathique’s cultural role, from diplomatic gift to object of intellectual prestige. Though its current whereabouts are unknown, No. 257’s recorded delivery to Baring confirms its status as one of the last original Sympathiques produced. Yet even after that quiet epilogue, one last echo remained. In 1875, more than half a century after Breguet’s death, the Maison completed and delivered Sympathique No. 222 to Grand Duke Konstantin of Russia, a final royal commission, and the closing act in a story that had begun in the shadow of the Enlightenment.

Sympathique No. 222 — Grand Duke Konstantin of Russia
Completed 1875 – Watch No. 5420 – The Final Numbered Sympathique

By the final decades of the 19th century, the artisanal world that birthed the Sympathique had been transformed by industrialisation. Yet Breguet’s most poetic invention endured. Completed in 1875, more than fifty years after Abraham-Louis Breguet’s death, Sympathique No. 222 stands as the last known numbered example in the original series, a final coda to a horological journey that began in 1795.

Grand Duke Konstantin of Russia. Image – Wikipedia

Commissioned for Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich of Russia, cousin of Tsar Alexander II and a noted patron of science and the arts, No. 222 reflects the lingering prestige of Breguet’s legacy within imperial circles. Even as horology modernised, the allure of a clock that could regulate another persisted.

Technically, No. 222 presents a refined Type B configuration: a mantel clock housed in a classical-style case with bronze and enamel decoration, paired with Breguet pocket chronometer No. 5420. The system performed daily hand-setting and rate correction, omitting the automatic winding function. At a set time, the clock’s cam system engaged levers to reset the watch’s hands and adjust its regulator, favouring mechanical precision over theatricality.

Only visual reference available of the Breguet Sympathique no. 222. Image – private archive

What gives No. 222 special weight is its context. By 1875, Breguet’s workshop was no longer led by its founding family, and its production relied on a network of subcontractors across France and Switzerland. The result was a clock of high craftsmanship, but one that also reflected the decentralised nature of late-century watchmaking.

Russia’s deep connection to Breguet, from Alexander I to Nicholas I and multiple imperial commissions, gives No. 222 dynastic resonance. That Grand Duke Konstantin chose to commission the final Sympathique suggests not just personal taste, but an act of continuity within a long tradition of horological patronage.

The clock reappeared publicly in 1997 at Sotheby’s Geneva, where it sold for 1,103,000 Swiss francs to a European private collector. Since then, it has remained out of public view. Though less extravagant than its predecessors, No. 222 is a clock of quiet significance. It marks the end of an era with precision and dignity, the last echo of Breguet’s enduring dream of mechanical harmony.

Sympathique No. 20/48 — Anomalous Construction and the Limits of the Series
Mid-19th Century – Rosewood Case – Breguet, Neveu et Compagnie

Among the Sympathique clocks attributed to the extended production of the Maison Breguet, one unusual piece stands apart: a hybrid construction comprising a case numbered 20 and a movement marked 48. Known as No. 20/48, it falls outside the canonical typology, neither an early royal commission nor one of the later documented examples. Yet its composite nature offers insight into the workshop practices and evolving priorities of the mid-19th century.

Breguet Sympathique no. 20/40 (foto by Isabelle Bidau). Image – Mobilier National, Paris

Though its exact assembly date remains unclear, stylistic and technical cues suggest it was built under Breguet, Neveu et Compagnie, decades after Abraham-Louis Breguet’s death. During this transitional period, the Maison increasingly relied on subcontractors and existing stock to fulfil special orders. In this context, combining leftover or repurposed parts from separate clocks may have been a practical decision, either to fulfil a modest commission or to preserve functionality from damaged originals.

Breguet Sympathique no. 20/40 companion pocket watch (photo by Isabelle Bidau). Image – Mobilier National, Paris

Visually, No. 20/48 stands out for its rosewood case, a departure from the ornate ormolu and tortoiseshell of earlier examples. Its simple, rectilinear form hints at a more domestic and bourgeois sensibility, more aligned with mid-century furniture than courtly opulence. Technically, it likely adheres to the Type B classification, capable of automatic hand-setting and rate correction, but not winding. The movement shows signs of Breguet manufacture or close workshop supervision, though full documentation is lacking.

What No. 20/48 reveals is the persistence of the Sympathique idea even as formal production slowed. Its creation reflects a continued reverence for Breguet’s most poetic invention, and a willingness to preserve it, however modestly. Though it may never have been destined for a palace, it embodies something just as enduring: the survival of a vision, pieced together and quietly carried forward into a new age.

The Making of a Modern Masterpiece

Fast forward to the final quarter of the twentieth century. Before founding THA or reviving the Sympathique under the Breguet name, François-Paul Journe was working independently in Paris, quietly building a reputation among collectors for his technical depth and historical sensitivity. His breakthrough came in the late 1980s with a commission from the London retailer Asprey, a project that would ignite the modern Sympathique revival.

One of only two Asprey Sympathiques. Image – F.P.Journe

Asprey’s request was bold: not replicas of Breguet’s clocks, but contemporary interpretations that honoured the original spirit while embracing modern craftsmanship. Journe responded with two extraordinary clocks, their coral and jade-adorned cases designed by jeweller Gilles Royaux. These richly decorated pieces marked a stylistic break from Breguet’s restraint, signalling a creative reimagining rather than historical reconstruction.

Mechanically, the clocks retained the core functions of the Sympathique, setting, regulating, and winding a paired watch, but with modern refinements. Chief among them was an extended eight-day power reserve, a significant improvement over the daily winding required by Breguet’s originals. This wasn’t simply aesthetic revival; it was a functional update, rooted in Breguet’s logic but executed with contemporary methods.

Completed over three years, the Asprey clocks were technical showpieces that proved the concept’s viability in a modern age. In hindsight, they laid the foundation for a broader project. At THA, the workshop Journe co-founded with Denis Flageollet and Dominique Mouret, the Sympathique idea evolved from individual commissions to a unified vision. Under François Bodet’s leadership, the newly revitalised Breguet brand commissioned a landmark creation for its 1991 Art of Breguet exhibition: a mantel clock paired not with a pocket watch, but with a wristwatch, both bearing the Breguet name.

Sympathique No. 1 — The Modern Resurrection
Completed 1991 – Art of Breguet Auction, Geneva – Tourbillon Wristwatch – Unique

When Sympathique No. 1 was unveiled at the Art of Breguet auction in Geneva in April 1991, it marked both a revival and a reinvention. Created by François-Paul Journe in collaboration with the THA workshop, and commissioned by the newly restructured Montres Breguet under Investcorp, it was conceived not as a replica but as a modern expression of Breguet’s most sophisticated idea.

Breguet Sympathique No 1 (1991). Image – Phillips

Presented as the final lot of the exhibition, No. 1 embodied a complete reinterpretation of the Sympathique system. The 18k yellow gold mantel clock, neoclassical in form and weighing 4.5 kilograms, was built over 15,000 hours by 36 specialists. Its regulator movement featured a compensation pendulum, constant-force escapement, and a full suite of complications: day, date, month, moonphase, thermometer, and equation of time, a modern homage to the scientific clocks of Breguet’s era.

Breguet Sympathique No 1 companion watch in pocket watch case. Image – Phillips

Breguet Sympathique No 1 companion watch. Image – Phillips

What made No. 1 groundbreaking, however, was its pairing with a wristwatch. Departing from the traditional pocket watch format, Journe designed a 36 mm wristwatch in matching gold, featuring a one-minute tourbillon, power reserve, and regulator-style display. When docked into the clock’s cradle, a vertical clutch engaged automatically, initiating a five-step sequence: detection, winding, hand-setting, regulation, and disengagement, all without user input.

The Art of Breguet 1991 auction ad. Image – Klassik Uhren Magazin

This wasn’t just mechanical elegance; it was a closed-loop timekeeping ecosystem. The clock and watch operate as a unit, synchronising daily, with the watch effectively functioning as a wristwatch, pocket watch, and precision instrument in one. Journe’s integration of a constant-force remontoir into a wearable format was especially forward-thinking, anticipating many of the principles that would define his later independent work.

Containing over 1,400 components, No. 1 was among the most complex and expensive horological creations of its time, reportedly priced near one million Deutsche Marks. It was sold at auction on 14 April 1991 and has remained in private hands since. Now, more than three decades later, it will return to Geneva in 2025, with an estimate exceeding CHF 1,000,000.

The Series Continues — Nos. 2 to 20 (1991–1996)

If No. 1 was the manifesto, the nineteen clocks that followed between 1991 and 1996 were its elaboration, a series of mechanical variations on the Sympathique theme, each unique yet grounded in the same foundational system developed by Journe and THA. These clocks, produced discreetly under commission or in limited numbers, all shared a common principle: a classically styled mantel clock with a concealed docking mechanism, paired with a wristwatch that was automatically set and wound once inserted into its cradle.

Despite this shared framework, each piece had its own identity. Materials varied from yellow, pink, and white gold to differing decorative treatments, some understated, others engraved or engine-turned. Most clocks retained the architectural neoclassicism of No. 1, while others introduced subtle stylistic changes. The core mechanical interface remained consistent: the ritual of daily synchronisation that defined Breguet’s original invention.

Breguet Sympathique No. 2, 1996. Image – Sothebys

A few examples stand out. Sympathique No. 2, completed in 1996, resurfaced at auction in the 2000s with a cleaner, more restrained aesthetic. Its wristwatch kept the regulator layout of No. 1, and the clock dial simplified its astronomical functions for a more minimalist look.

No. 4, started in 1990 but completed later, introduced bold colour with a red and gilt case and black enamel accents, paired with a traditional three-hand wristwatch, a nod to Breguet’s classical roots, reimagined with modern flair.

No. 15 (1994) leaned toward opulence, featuring a moonphase, calendar, and sculptural case design. Its wristwatch included a regulator dial with retrograde power reserve, blending baroque complexity with technical finesse.

Finally, No. 20, the last in the series, offered a refined finish and an enhanced wristwatch movement, symbolically closing the series with grace. Sold at auction, it carried the quiet weight of being the final numbered Sympathique.

Breguet Sympathique No. 15, 1994. Image – Sothebys

Throughout the series, the format of the wristwatch varied, but the principle remained constant. Each watch was manually wound (except No. 1), regulator in style, and built with the interface required for synchronisation. All were modern tributes to Breguet’s vision: mechanical systems designed not to imitate the past, but to complete it.

The twenty Sympathique clocks made between 1991 and 1996 remain among the most ambitious homages to Breguet ever realised in modern watchmaking. Now held mostly in private collections, they occasionally surface at auction, offering collectors and scholars alike a glimpse into one of the most intellectually rigorous revivals in contemporary horology.

A Dialogue Across Centuries

The return of Breguet Sympathique No. 1 to the public stage is more than the reappearance of a rare collector’s piece. It is a reminder that even in an age of digitised precision, mechanical ingenuity retains its power to inspire, not simply for its complexity, but for its coherence, its purpose, and its poetry. In this singular creation, we see not only the continuation of a mechanical idea first conceived in the 1790s, but its deliberate completion across time. 

For François-Paul Journe, the Sympathique was never a replica. It was a conversation, with Breguet, with history, with the very notion of horological perfection he always pursued. In reimagining a lost invention, he did not merely reconstruct its mechanics; he extended its logic. The introduction of a wristwatch, the inclusion of a remontoir and tourbillon, the expansion to an eight-day power reserve, these were not embellishments, but evolutions.

François-Paul Journe. Image – F.P. Journe

At the same time, the Sympathique marked a turning point in Journe’s life. It bridged his years of atelier independence with the foundation of his own manufacture. Before Chronomètre à Résonance, before the Tourbillon Souverain, before Invenit et Fecit, there was this. The Sympathique was not only his technical proof of concept, but his declaration of creative autonomy. Yet the meaning of the Sympathique extends even further. 

By the mid-nineteenth century, Adrien Philippe’s invention of the crown-setting mechanism shifted the focus of watchmaking toward personal autonomy, allowing users to wind and set their watches without tools, a clear convergence with Breguet’s vision of timepieces maintained automatically by a parent clock. But the goal remained the same: simplicity, precision, freedom from error. 

In the twentieth century, watchmakers returned to the dream. Between the 1920s and 1950s, experimental systems emerged to allow watches to regulate, reset, or adjust themselves. Most faltered, too complex or too costly for mass adoption. But all of them echoed Breguet’s earliest drawings: a vision of horological self-reliance, from Wilhelm Kaufmann’s hand-corrected minute adjuster to ETA’s self-regulating mechanisms.

By the end of the twentieth century, that vision had shifted. The dream of the Sympathique had become less about mechanical necessity and more about philosophical tribute. Journe’s modern clocks, beginning with the Asprey commissions and culminating in No. 1, did not aim for industrial relevance. They sought beauty, rigour, and fidelity to an idea, the elegant reaffirmation of a forgotten ideal.

Select Bibliography

Primary Sources
Daniels, George. The Art of Breguet. Sotheby’s Publications, 1975.
Salomons, Sir David. Breguet 1747–1823. Paris: H. Daragon, 1921.
Alte Uhren Journal. Vol. 3/1982, 4/1982, 1/1986, 4/1990.
Montres Breguet Archives (sales ledgers and workshop records, 1795–1875).

Auction Catalogues
Sotheby’s Geneva: Masterpieces from the Time Museum (1999), Important Watches (1989, 2005, 2008, 2012).
Phillips Geneva: The Geneva Watch Auction: XXI (2025).
Antiquorum Geneva: Important Watches (1991, 1994, 2003).
Christie’s Geneva: Important Watches (1990, 1994).

Museum Documentation
Royal Collection Trust (UK), Topkapı Palace Museum (Istanbul), Beyer Watch and Clock Museum (Zurich), Time Museum (Rockford), Patek Philippe Museum (Geneva).
Exhibition Catalogue: Breguet: Apogée de l’Horlogerie Européenne, Louvre Museum, 2009.