Abraham-Louis Breguet - The Salomons Collection

The Salomons Collection

British philanthopist, scientist and MP Sir David Salomons (1851–1925) developed a lifelong passion for horology and he became one of the leading authorities on Breguet and his timepieces. In 1921 he published the seminal volume, Breguet 1747-1823, the first major book on the subject, which included a biography, an analysis of Breguet's key inventions, listings of major pieces, and a detailed timeline of production, using examples from his own unique collection for illustrations. Over his lifetime, Salomons amassed the world's largest private Breguet collection, which ultimately grew to 124 pieces, including what are considered to be the two greatest examples of Breguet's watchmaking work - the "Marie Antionette" and the double-faced "Duc de Praslin" watches. In 1924 Salomons donated the "Duc de Praslin" (pictured at left) to the Musée des Techniques du Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris, but it was subsequently stolen. Fortunately, after three months of tinkering with the watch, the thief was apprehended when he took it to a renowned Parisian watch specialist for repair.

After Salomons' death in 1925, his daughter Vera donated 57 of his best Breguet pieces, including the "Marie Antoinette" and a "Sympathiques" clock to the L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art in Jerusalem, which was founded by her brother. Salomons left the remainder of the collection to his wife, who eventually sold them at auction, although according to one account, she was initially rebuffed when she approached Sotheby's, because the staffer with whom she dealt could not believe that someone "off the street" could possibly have amassed such a collection. In 1980, British master horologist George Daniels (widely regarded as the most important watchmaker since Breguet) catalogued the Breguet watches and clocks in the museum, and published a study on them. Three years later, on the night of 15 April 1983, the Mayer Institute was burgled and 106 rare timepieces, including the entire Salomons collection, were stolen. The audacious multi-million-dollar theft was Israel's largest-ever robbery - by this time, the "Marie Antoinette" alone was valued at US$30 million. There was a substantial insurance payout, but the case remained unsolved until August 2006, when the perpetrator was revealed as Namaan Diller, a notorious Israeli burglar who had fled to the USA after the break-in. Just before he died in 2004, Diller had confessed his crime to his wife, Nili Shamrat, and in August 2006 she attempted to sell a batch of the stolen items (including the "Marie Antoinette" watch and a Breguet "Sympathique" clock) back to the museum, although her initial asking price of $2 million was eventually cut down to just US$35,000. When police searched the couple's Los Angeles home, more of the missing items were found, and documents recovered led them to safes and storage units in France, the Netherlands and Israel; by 2008 all but 10 of the items Diller stole from the Mayer Museum had been recovered.