Breguet

Hi,

Here is my new Breguet.



I read many discussions about the movement of this watch and I have some questions.
Breguet say this is a Caliber 240 Q Ultra-thin self-winding mechanical movement.
I read on other messages that the movement is a Piguet 71. Is it the same with a different name ?
What is exactly the history of the movement in this watch ?

Thanks

The movement was originally an F. Piguet caliber 71. I gather that Breguet bought the rights to the movement, or bought the company that made the movement, or some company that owns an interest in Breguet also owns an interest in the company that makes the movement, or something like that. As a result, I believe that only Breguet is currently making new watches with that caliber (although there are plenty of older watches with that caliber made by other companies). I don't know whether Breguet is claiming "manufacture" status for the movement.

Although I don't own Breguet's version of the movement, I own one in a different brand and I have found it to be a good movement.

Hi cbo,

The Breguet 502 is indeed based on the Piguet 71, but is now produced in-house by Breguet.  When Lemania/Breguet took over production of the movement they modified the barrel and center minutes pinion to improve the regularity of the power flow and increase the reliability of the movement. They've also increased the beat rate and have either recently or are in the process of changing it to a free-sprung balance as well (IIUC).   All valuable improvements IMHO. 

It's a very thin movement and is an automatic with an open barrel.  As such, if worn daily or left on a winder it will almost certainly need service more frequently than most other movements, but it is a very refined piece of work and performs well if properly serviced and adjusted. 

Congrats!

_john

Hello John,
reading you answer I wondered how You would compare the cal 502(FP 71 based) to the cal 591(Lemania 8815 based) in terms of service,mvmt design etc(improvements done by Breguet to the old 8810/Longines concept  of Your in-depth review?),
kind regards,
lutz

Hi lutz,

The cal. 502 is just too thin for its own good in my humble opinion and suffers slightly decreased accuracy and reliability because of it.  It is a highly serviceable design in the sense that everything is exposed and easy to get to (which is not to say it's easy to work on exactly, due to the extremely delicate hairsrping), but the the open barrel coupled with the ultra-thin balance and escapement combination lead to a decreased service interval if worn every day.  The constant slipping of any automatic mainspring generates some debris that can't help but find its way into other parts of the movement due to the absence of a barrel cover and you end up with it stopping or the accuracy going off earlier than it might otherwise.

The Cal. 591 is in all ways more accurate, more robust and more reliable IMHO, but it is a little thicker too of course.

_john

and do You know of improvements to the original 8810 version?
kind regards,
Lutz

Hi lutz,

Specific movement upgrades are pretty difficult to track down, even for watchmakers that work with the movements every day.  Getting reliable info about such modifications is pretty hit and miss or largely the result of detective work and conjecture and I don't know anything specific that Breguet/Lemania has done to that movement over the years.  Which does not of course mean that they haven't done anything with it, just that the changes have been pretty subtle and/or my experience with the movement somewhat limited.

_john