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Today,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the Topkapi Palace Museum owns several of the finest Breguet creations specially made for Turkey, including the fabulous Sympathique clock owned by Mahmud II, probably one of the most richly decorated objects Breguet ever made.
Breguet is associating with the Topkapi Palace Museum in presenting a prestigious collection of antique watches specially made for the Turkish market. The exhibition will present historical 19th century pieces belonging to the Topkapi Palace Museum and the Breguet museums in Switzerland and Paris, including the Sympathique clock made for Mahmud II, letters exchanged between Breguet and the Turkish ambassador Esseid Ali Effendi, along with portraits of famous clients.
The ties between A.-L. Breguet and the Ottoman Empire date back to the early 19th century. At that time, trade relations between Breguet and its main markets namely England, followed by Spain and finally Russia were suspended by the Napoleonic wars. A patron of Breguet's as of 1798, the latter bought a minute-repeating model in 1799 and then a clock in 1801. After his return to Turkey in 1802, the two men kept up a regular correspondence, in the course of which Esseid Ali Effendi ordered a number of watches, ranging from extremely complicated to very simple models, as well as thermometers and barometers.
Breguet's second trump card was his decision to send a trustworthy watchmaker to represent him in Turkey. The parent company sent this representative an average of six to eight extremely valuable pieces per year until 1820,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], all of them enamelled in Geneva.
The Breguet museums also possess some magnificent Ottoman style pieces, acquired at major auctions in which Nicolas G. Hayek himself took part in the fierce bidding. These creations symbolise the fruitful cultural encounter between the avant-garde watch technology introduced by Breguet and the richly evocative decorative tests of the Ottoman Empire.
Simple watch with deadbeat independent centre seconds, made for the Turkish market, double gold case with floral enamel decoration, enamel dial with Turkish numerals, blued steel Breguet hands, ruby cylinder escapement.
Among all the watches made by Breguet for the Turkish market,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], this watch is exceptional by its movement with overhanging ruby-cylinder escapement and the deadbeat centre seconds mechanism. Most of the Breguet watches sold in Istanbul were simple or repeating watches or even models chiming on demand, but almost never fitted with a mechanism "à secondes d'un coup" that was less spectacular but far more delicate and expensive to make.
During this period, the French government was looking for a gift to make to the new sultan, Mahmud II, and opted for a model by Breguet. In 1813, the sovereign therefore received an extraordinary Sympathique clock and watch pair worth 35,000 French francs.