Pierre Giteau – Gold jump hour cylinder

A very stylish and quite substantial Paris gold cylinder watch with unusual jump hour dial, by an important maker who was one of Breguet’s pupils.

MOVEMENT : Gilt cylinder escapement, with three arm gold balance wheel and blued steel regulator index.

In good condition, with a few light scratches, running well and correctly moving forward the hour counter.

DIAL : Silver engine turned dial, with aperture for hours and subsidiary seconds.

In good condition, with just some light scuffs to the centre and a couple of small indentations within the seconds dial.

Blued steel hands.

CASE : A beautiful gold case, engine turned to the back and bezel.

French gold marks for 1822-1838. The back and cuvette are additionally marked with the case number (38550). The cuvette is also stamped BM in a lozenge shaped cartouche. The gold cuvette is signed :

Giteau. Eve. De Breguet
PALAIS ROYAL No. 140
N. 1065

In good condition, though with some wear to the engine turning around the edges and a couple of light scratches to the cuvette. The hinge is fine and the covers and bezel close correctly. The synthetic crystal is fine.

Pierre Giteau was at Palais Royal, Paris from 1811.  He completed his apprenticeship as watchmaker at Abraham-Louis Breguet and worked his entire life as a watchmaker in Paris. He was awarded the title of “Watchmaker of the King” but signed most of his watches with “Giteau, Eleve de Breguet”.  The layout of this movement is very similar to some of Breguet’s work.

PROVENANCE : From the Masterworks of Time Collection.
This was the very prestigious collection of German billionaire Erivan Haub, who spent 50 years collecting the finest watches from all periods. He died in 2018.