Dreweatts & Bloomsbury (Dreweatts)
Lot 158
Breguet, First Generation Type 20, ref. 5101/54 Breguet, First Generation Type 20, ref. 5101/54, a stainless steel military wristwatch, no. 7688, circa 1954, Swiss chronograph movement, 17 jewels, cal. R222, black dial, luminous Arabic numerals, outer white Arabic numeral 5 minute track, luminous skeleton baton hands, luminous chronograph hand, subsidiary dials for constant seconds and 30 minute recording, knurled bezel with arrow head indicator, screw down back engraved FG.10.56, FG 22 6 65, FG 22 7 73, FG 11 7 75, FG 27 10 78, FG 28 6 80, case signed , on a black leather strap, diameter 38mm The Type 20 was a specification of wristwatch set out by the French Ministry of Defence. These were issued to the pilots and flight crew of the French Air Force, French National Navy and French Flight Tests Center. The watches remained property of the army and were issued like any other piece of equipment. The standard model for the French Air Force was fitted with an unsigned dial. Four companies supplied the Type 20 to the armed forces, Vixa, Breguet, J. Auricoste and Dodane. Breguet were commissioned to produce 2000 watches by the government in 1954. The specifications for the Type 20 were that the watch was accurate to at least 8 seconds per day, a power reserve of at least 35 hours, to include the flyback function and the ability to operate satisfactorily at least 300 times. Due to the use of these watches they had to be serviced regularly. The date for the next scheduled service was stamped on the case back next to the letters FG. This stood for fin de garantie, which translates to end of warranty. This watch has six dates stamped to the case back.
