Vintage

Timepieces at Castillo de Chapultepec

Dave G · 2014-07-20T15:12:04Z

Explore historical clocks and pocket watches, including Maximilian I s personal timepiece, discovered at Mexico City s Castillo de Chapultepec.

By Dave G · Jul 20, 2014 · 3 replies

Dave G

WPS member · Horological Meandering forum

3 replies1100 views39 photos

Dave G shares a delightful discovery from his visit to Mexico City's Castillo de Chapultepec, where he unexpectedly encountered a collection of historical clocks and pocket watches. His post captures the excitement of stumbling upon horological treasures outside of a dedicated watch exhibition, offering readers a glimpse into the personal timepieces of figures like Maximilian I.

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After a week of work in Mexico City I spent a nice weekend visiting the incredible galleries. I understand only Paris has more galleries (or so the tourists guide says) and I believe. It. The murals specifically are fantastic if you find a good guide to explain them.

This morning, a bit of a different stop at the Castillo de Chapultepec, which notably was the home of Maximilian I and which houses some of his personal treasures including clocks and pocket watches. I always find it a treat to stumble across these old pieces, which weren't the intent of the visit. I hope you find them interesting.

I suspect many of the clocks are French? Perhaps someone more knowledgeable has a view.

Dave

Key Points from the Discussion

The Castillo de Chapultepec visit is elevated by the inclusion of watches and clocks, with a Breguet pocket watch noted as the most famous piece in the collection, previously subject to a research study by Emmanuel Breguet.
Dave G highlights Maximilian I's personal watch, displayed separately, which features an extra dial and what appears to be an extra mainspring, suggesting a complex or unique complication.

The Discussion

amanico

Jul 20, 2014

No idea about the clocks, but thanks for these superb pics, Dave. [nt]

AlexSunrise

Jul 21, 2014

Great visit, Dave!

It is quite a treat to visit the Castillo by itself, but adding the watches and clocks really takes it to another level! :-) The most famous of the collection is a Breguet pocket watch, which at one point was the subject of a research study lead by Emmanuel Breguet, curator of the Breguet Museum in Paris to determine its origins, which unfortunately I do not remember at this time. In any case it is a great place to visit! I am glad you had a good time. Cheers, Alejandro

Dave G

Jul 22, 2014

Interesting...

I saw a Bregeut marked piece in the pocket watch case. The one that intrigued me was this one identified as Maxililian's personal watch set aside in its own display case. It has an extra dial and what appears to be an extra mainspring. Can not quite make out the printing on the dial in my photo. I should have gotten closer. Dave

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