Description: Gilt brass, front wound, steel cylinder movement of ‘souscription’ style (53.5mm diameter). Three armed balance with no temperature compensation, no parachute. Steel cylinder escapement, escape not visible underneath the dial. Plate un-engraved on the back, front stamped with ‘FIG 558’. Big central spring barrel held by a fancy shaped single bridge. Balance bridge and 4th wheel bridge with curved foot along the spring barrel. Balance bridge end shaped like Lépine’s versions.
Provenance: Ex private collection Jean – Claude Sabrier (F)
Additional Info:
The qualitatively very high standard finishing puts this movement among the output of important watchmakers in Paris. Clearly not of Breguet manufacture, it retains a very precise manufacture of the pieces the overall disposition of the bridges and the big diameter. This movement was made to take advantage of the considerable success of Breguet’s ‘souscription’ watches. It has been tried not to use the straight bridge foots used by Breguet, most probably to avoid patent usurpation problems.
Only the Oudin-familiy got the right to use Breguet’s design for making their own ‘souscription’ pieces. Contemporary watches imitating Breguet’s ‘souscription’ pieces are by far rarer than the originals they try to copy.
Antiquarian Horology 
