According to the Archives of Montres Breguet, this highly attractive quarter repeating à toc watch with case no. 1198 by Joly and gold dial was sold on 8 October 1816 to "Lord Lauderdale” for the amount of 2,200 Francs.

James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale (1759-1839), was one of Breguet’s most loyal English customers, purchasing seven watches between 1804 and 1807 alone. An affirmed Francophile and diplomat, Lord Lauderdale had completed his education in Paris and was a fluent French speaker. He had actually been in France during the revolution, of which he was thought to be in sympathy and even became known as 'Citizen Maitland', he was also a personal friend of Jean-Paul Marat. In August 1806, on a mission on behalf of the British government, Lord Lauderdale along with the Earl of Yarmouth had tried to negotiate a peace treaty with Napoleon and Talleyrand but returned to England without success.

Abraham-Louis Breguet greatly valued his loyal English aristocratic clients of whom there were many and whose names are a roll-call of the most illustrious figures of the period including the Prince of Wales, later King George IV who was in fact one of his earliest customers who had bought watches from Breguet in the 1780s. Breguet had hoped that the Prince might assist him when he applied, in the end unsuccessfully, for permission to open an establishment in London. Even during the years of the Continental blockade, Breguet still managed to supply his English customers. Watches were sent via friends who were travelling to England or through other ingenious channels, sometimes via Russia. It is recorded that between 1810 and 1813 Breguet sold 125 pieces to English customers, mostly through his London agents Recordon and Dumergue, a remarkable achievement considering the political landscape at the time.

The present watch is a very fine and beautifully preserved example of a Breguet “dumb” quarter repeater with his famous overhanging ruby cylinder escapement. Repetition à ponts or “dumb” quarter repeating or repeating “à toc” is the term given to a repeating watch without gongs or bells whereby the hammers strike small metal blocks inside the band of the case during repeating. This system was probably used for reasons of discretion for the wearer.

Breguet’s method of winding the repeating train with the pull-twist-push piston was his own invention and can be found either in the pendant, as in the present watch, or in the band. It was very expensive to make and its purpose was essentially to give the watch a neater appearance.

Breguet used the cylinder escapement throughout his life, it is a frictional rest escapement but of a far superior kind. The first cylinder escapements made by the English makers were not much more accurate in operation than the verge. This was because the diameter of the cylinder was too great in relation to the diameter of the balance, causing a loss of energy through friction. To reduce the friction, the English makers, who were very skilled in the art of jeweling, made the cylinder half-section ruby. The ruby was fitted into a steel frame - it was this form of cylinder escapement first used by Breguet.

By about 1795 Breguet had developed it to the very familiar "overhanging" ruby cylinder. These escapements performed so well and with such increased consistency of rate that temperature errors previously swamped by general bad performance now needed correction. For this reason, Breguet's ruby cylinder escapements often have a compensation curb fitted to the balance.

For further details of Breguet’s international network, see: Emmanuel Breguet, ‘Breguet, Watchmakers Since 1775’.