Baselworld/SIHH

From Press Kit

World Watch and Jewellery Show ~ Basel 2009

Breguet: Harmony and Refinement

2009 Trends

Breguet's most recent entries uphold its oldest and noblest traditions, discreetly displaying the signature features that set a Breguet off from all other watches made. Dials made of manually engine-turned gold, open-tipped blued steel hands, fluted caseband, unique production number – the Breguet personality comes to the fore at first glance. Every new horological and jewellery design by Breguet expresses the philosophy laid down a full decade ago by Nicolas G. Hayek: enhanced by advanced technologies and inspired by the world of culture – beauty first, beauty foremost.

This year in Basel, Breguet is introducing its latest alarm movement fitted in the new generation of Marine watches. A technological gem, the watch naturally displays the instantly identifiable Marine decorative wave pattern.

A pioneer in acoustic research, Breguet today confirms a technological advance it already enjoyed 225 years ago with its invention of the gong. A new alarm mechanism built into the diver's watch as well as a new minute repeater are also joining the collection. The delicate art of diamond setting continues to flourish at Breguet's, with a repeater watch that's a marvel of technical virtuosity, impressively wedding Haute Joaillerie to Haute Horlogerie.

New entries are joining both the Classique and the Tradition collections this year. Their sweeping lines and decorative harmony are sure to captivate any admirer of fine watchmaking.

Marine Royale 5847 ~ alarm water-resistant to 300 m

Breguet's Marine collection draws its inspiration from the original designs created by Breguet himself for the French Royal Navy after his 1815 appointment as Horologist to the French Navy. Sturdy in design, Breguet Marine watches have for decades been reputed for their dependable performances. In 2004 Breguet launched a new interpretation of this product line, featuring a markedly more contemporary and sporty but ever elegant design. Following the launch in 2007 of the first tourbillon-equipped chronograph with silicon escapement, this year brings a groundbreaking new design: the Marine Royale alarm watch, water-resistant to 300 m.

Breguet's Marine Royale 5847 comes with an alarm device that can only delight both amateur divers and aficionados of exceptional complications. Underwater tests confirm that sound travels better through water than through air. Sound waves require material support and their speed increases with the density of the environment. Sound travels about four times faster under than above water. Furthermore, as the underwater milieu is generally far less noisy than the aerial one, the alarm's sound is perceived with greater clarity underwater.

The alarm setting crown and on-off pushpiece, in gold, are sheathed in rubber for easier handling, adding a further touch of sporty elegance. The watch naturally possesses the usual diver's-watch features, not least a one-way rotating bezel inscribed with a graduated 20-minute sector. The bezel's unidirectional rotation is secured by a blocking pawl, visible and located between the two winding crowns on the case flank. Shaped like a wave, it recalls the watch's essential functions. To improve its legibility even in the murkiest waters, its minute markers and hand along with the hour hand are coated with white luminous superluminova while the hour and alarm markers glow blue. Represented by a blue triangular pointer at 10 o'clock, the power-reserve indicator is also luminous.

Rounding out its attributes, the Marine Royale 5847 possesses a date indicator and a self-winding mechanism. The white gold version comes with an 18 kt dial with black rhodium finish while the pink gold version features an 18 kt pink gold dial. Both are manually engine-turned with the collection's dedicated wave pattern.

Classique 7337 ~ Date, moon phases and running seconds

The Classique 7337's spare design derives directly from the early Breguet watches found today in the Breguet Museum on Place Vendôme in Paris. Epitomizing Breguet's timeless Classique collection, this elegant wristwatch shows the days of the week, the age and phases of the moon and the date. Hours and minutes are shown on an off-centered hour chapter in the Breguet style while at 5 o'clock the running seconds give the watch its asymmetrical allure. Inspired by the Museum's no. 3833 antique watch, the date and the day of the week are positioned on either side of the indication of the age and phases of the moon, situated just above the off-centered hour chapter. This memorable design comes in a 39 mm case with sapphire caseback fashioned in a choice of white and yellow gold and equipped with now famous extra-thin Breguet caliber 502 fitted with an auxiliary plate.

Classique Grande Complication 7637 ~ Minute repeater

Today still, the minute repeater ranks supreme among horological complications. Universally admired, its intricate construction has remained the preserve of a few master watchmakers with the skill and patience to fit and adjust its delicate parts. In 2008, Breguet came out with a new way of designing these technological marvels, fitting them with an entirely re-engineered movement incorporating new materials and featuring innovative positions for the gongs, gong rests and hammers. This patented technique is now in service on Breguet minute repeater no. 7637. Its large, 42 mm white or pink gold case houses a minute repeater movement featuring running seconds at 9 o'clock and a 24-hour (day/night) subdial at 3 o'clock. The crystal-clear sound issuing from the case had never been heard before in any repeater without chimes. The gold gongs match the color of the case while the hard-metal hammers have been polished and beveled – no mean feat for such unyielding material. The hand-wound movement visible through the clear sapphire case back has been entirely chased by hand while, in true Breguet style, the dial is manually engine-turned silvered gold.

Classique Grande Complication 7839 ~ Haute Joaillerie Minute repeater

Another achievement of Breguet's acoustic laboratory, the Classique Grande Complication 7639, "senior" companion piece to the 7637 design, adds the prestige of baguette diamonds to the minute repeater function. Ideal for conveying sound vibrations beyond the case, diamond's hardness and pureness further improve the watch's sonority by reducing vibration loss to a minimum. Following the lead of major sound-system specialists whose loudspeakers now feature diamond conduction, Breguet has decided to introduce a fully diamond-set design whose setting is as perfect as the acoustic performance of its minute repeater. Watch 7639 emits a spectacularly pure sound that is certain to delight any connoisseur of ringing or chiming Grande Horlogerie. Including its bracelet attachments, crown and dial, the case is entirely covered in invisibly set diamonds that turn the watch into a fabulous gem.

Classique Grande Complication 5347 Double Tourbillon

The spectacular outcome of years of diligent development, the Breguet Double Tourbillon includes a hand-wound movement fitted with a pair of tourbillon regulators rotating on the hour axis. An aesthetic as well as a technical masterpiece, the watch features today a pink gold case 44 mm in diameter housing over 570 components, all painstakingly assembled by Breguet's master watchmakers.

Working independently from one another, two tourbillons are coupled by means of differential gears and mounted on a rotating centre plate effecting a complete revolution in twelve hours. The differential device conveys the two tourbillons' mean rate to the rotating centre plate and to the time-display mechanism. The rate of the watch is thus the mean rate of the two tourbillons, making its movement twice as precise as a normal one. The hour is shown by the bridge connecting the tourbillon regulators doubling as a watch hand, while the minutes are indicated by a standard hand at centre.

Impeccable finish and spectacular new engraving work on the back of the movement further underscore this exceptional timepiece's appeal. A manually engine-turned mainplate, a chapter ring inscribed with Roman numerals, pink gilt Breguet hands, a movement with decorated bridges and bars and other parts beveled and polished further testify to an exceptionally handsome design of unrivalled beauty and refinement.

First introduced at the 2006 Basle Fair but initially available in insufficient numbers, this grande complication design with double tourbillon was in 2008 delivered to Breguet clients who had ordered the watch, often paying in advance. Despite an increase in recent orders joining as yet undelivered earlier orders, newly added manufacturing capacity has allowed Breguet to schedule delivery of the first pink gold models for the end of 2009.

Tradition 7027 in pink gold

Unique in the history of watchmaking and symbolic of Breguet's own origins, the emblematic Tradition 7027 design returns in a two-color version. Its now-celebrated caliber 507DR displays the entire movement, built on either side of the mainplate though mostly on the front of the plate. Its pink gold case holds an anthracite grey movement that emphasizes its bridges and bars, in particular the escapement's, fitted with its celebrated old-style "pare-chute" in hand-beveled steel. The movement proper has received a grey anthracite surface treatment, basically an improved electroplating technique, employing an alloy of precious metals of the platinum family darker in hue than the ruthenium traditionally favored by watchmakers.

The visual contrasts between the anthracite movement and the pink gold case add to the watch's crisp contemporary good looks with a revolutionary touch or two, not least the time of day displayed on a lustrous black dial off-centered at 12 o'clock.

The Tradition 7027 is also available in pink gold with pink gold mainplate, bridges and bars or in a white gold case fitted with the new anthracite movement.

Breguet Tradition

Specifications of the watch

REF. 7027BB/G9/9V6

Case : round in 18K white gold with finely fluted caseband. Sapphire caseback. Diameter 37 mm. Rounded horns welded to the case, screw pins securing the strap. Water-resistant to 30 meters.

Dial in black electroplated 18K gold, hand-engraved on a rose engine, off-centered at 12 o'clock. Individually numbered and signed Breguet. Chapter ring with Roman numerals. Open-tipped Breguet hands in polished steel.

Movement: hand-wound mechanical movement clad in an anthracite gray alloy of platinum-group metals. Power-reserve indication engraved on the front and back of the movement. Numbered and signed Breguet. Cal. 507DR. 14 ½ lines. 34 jewels. 50-hour power-reserve. Straight-line lever escapement. Monometallic balance wheel. Breguet overcoil. Adjusted in 5 positions.

Also available in rose gold.

Breguet Tradition

Specifications of the watch

REF. 7027BR/R9/9V6

Case : round in 18K rose gold with finely fluted caseband. Sapphire caseback. Diameter 37 mm Rounded horns welded to the case, screw pins securing the strap. Water-resistant to 30 meters.

Dial in black electroplated 18K gold, hand-engraved on a rose engine, off-centered at 12 o'clock. Individually numbered and signed Breguet. Chapter ring with Roman numerals. Open-tipped Breguet hands in polished steel.

Movement: hand-wound mechanical movement in rose goldplate. Power-reserve indication engraved on the front and back of the movement. Numbered and signed Breguet. Cal. 507DR. 14 ½ lines. 34 jewels. 50-hour power reserve. Frequency 3 Hz. Straight-line lever escapement.  Monometallic balance wheel. Breguet overcoil. Adjusted in 5 positions.

Classique Grande Complication – Twin Rotating Tourbillons

Specifications of the Watch

REF. 5347BR/11/9ZU

Case round, in 18K pink gold, with finely fluted caseband. Sapphire caseback. Diameter: 44 mm. Rounded horns welded to the case, screw pins securing the strap. Water-resistant to 30 meters.

Dial ring-shaped, forming a flange in 18K silvered gold. Individually numbered and signed Breguet. Chapter ring with Roman numerals. Rose gilt open-tipped Breguet minute hand. The hour hand is an extension of the bridge supporting the two tourbillon carriages. Manually engine-turned center plate featuring apertures for the two tourbillons and rotating in step with the hours.

Movement hand-wound mechanical movement with twin tourbillon regulators mounted on the manually engine-turned rotating center plate. The two regulators are coupled by a differential gear that combines the mean rate of the two movements. The tourbillons effect a complete revolution in 12 hours. Movement numbered and signed Breguet. 50-hour power reserve. 16 ½ lines. 85 jewels. Cal. 588. Breguet overcoil. Frequency 2.5 Hz. Monometallic Breguet balance wheels with four gold regulating screws. Adjusted in 6 positions. The back of the movement bears a hand-engraved representation of the solar system, inspired by the 60-second rotation of the tourbillons on themselves and their rotation in tandem around a center axis over a 12-hour period.

Classique Grande Complication – Minute Repeater

Specifications of the watch

REF. 7637BB/12/9ZU

Case : round in 18K white gold with finely fluted caseband. Rounded horns welded to the case, screw pins securing the strap. Diameter 42 mm. Sapphire-crystal caseback.

Dial: in silvered 18K gold, hand-engraved on a rose engine. Individually numbered and signed BREGUET. Chapter ring with Roman numerals. Open-tipped BREGUET hands in blued steel. 24-hour indication at 3 o'clock and running seconds

 at 9 o'clock.

Movement: hand-wound, with minute repeater, entirely engraved by hand. Numbered and signed Breguet. 12 ½ lines. 31 jewels. Cal. 567/2. 40-hour power-reserve. Straight-line lever escapement. 2.5Hz balance-wheel with load screws. Breguet overcoil. Adjusted in 5 positions.

Also available in 18K rose gold.

Classique

Specifications of the watch

REF. 7337BA/1E/9V6

Case : round, in 18K yellow gold with finely fluted caseband. Rounded horns welded to the case, screw pins securing the strap. Diameter: 39 mm. Sapphire-crystal caseback. Water-resistant to 30 meters.

Dial: in silvered 18K gold, hand-engraved on a rose engine. Individually numbered and signed Breguet. Chapter ring with Roman numerals off-centered at 6 o'clock, engine-turned in a cross-weave basket pattern. Open-tipped Breguet hands in blued steel. Age and phases of the moon at 12 o'clock. Date at 2 o'clock. Day of the week at 10 o'clock. Running seconds at 5 o'clock.

Movement: self-winding mechanical movement. Individually numbered and signed Breguet. 12 lines. 35 jewels. Cal.502.3 QSE1. 45-hour power reserve. 18K gold rotor, hand-engraved on a rose engine. 3 Hz Breguet balance wheel with load  screws. Adjusted in 6 positions.

Also available in 18K white gold.

Marine Royale – Alarm watch water-resistant to 300M. 

Specifications of the Watch

REF. 5847BR/32/5ZU

Case: round, in 18K rose gold with finely fluted caseband. Sapphire-crystal glass with magnifying lens over the date at 6 o'clock. Manually engine-turned caseback fitted with a sapphire crystal.  Diameter: 45 mm. Rounded horns welded to the case, screw pins securing the strap. Wave-shaped ratchet at 3 o'clock serving to ensure the bezel's one-way rotation. Rubber-covered alarm on/off pushpiece at 8 o'clock. Alarm setting pushpiece at 4 o'clock sheathed in black rubber. Screw-locked crowns. Water-resistant to 300m.

Dial: 18K pink gold, displaying a wave pattern manually engraved on a rose engine. Individually numbered and signed Breguet. Chapter ring with applied blued Roman numerals and luminous dots. Triangular hand at the center for setting the alarm time. Alarm power-reserve indication in an aperture between 9 and 11 o'clock. Alarm on/off indicator in a round aperture at 12 o'clock. Date at 6 o'clock. Facetted, open-tipped Breguet hands in 18-carat blued gold, coated with a luminous compound.

Movement: self-winding mechanical, with alarm mechanism, numbered and signed Breguet. Cal. 519R. 12 lines, 36 jewels. 45-hour power-reserve. Engine-turned 18K rose gold rotor. Frequency 4 Hz. Straight-line lever escapement. Balance-wheel with regulating screws. Adjusted in 5 positions.

Also available in 18K white gold with black rhodium dial as well as with a leather strap.

Breguet retail pricing

Tradition 7027 (Pink Gold / Pink Movement): $24,100.00

Tradition 7027 (White Gold / Grey Movement): $24,700.00

Tradition 7027 (Pink Gold / Grey Movement): $24,100.00

Classique 5967 (White Gold) : TBC

Classique 5967 (Yellow Gold) : TBC

Classique 7337 (White Gold) : $36,100.00

Classique 7337 (Yellow Gold) : $35,200.00

Marine Royale (White Gold): $42,900.00

Marine Royale (Pink Gold): $42,000.00

Classique Minute Repeater 7637 (White Gold): $215,000.00

Classique Minute Repeater 7637 (Pink Gold): $214,400.00

Classique Minute 7639 Repeater Set with Diamonds: TBC

Classique Double Tourbillon (Pink Gold) : TBC