BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
I’ve said many times before that Breguet’s watches are often at the highest levels mechanical watchmaking can get and sometimes that includes the small hyper-creative independent watchmakers too. The Tradition line is where that is most obvious although it stretches all of their collections. Breguet’s watches have been held in the highest regard more or less since the company got going in 1775, and today, they’re no different. When they released the 7077 nine years ago in 2015 they once again showed their watchmaking prowess. While the world may have moved on mechanical watchmaking is very much a traditional thing with long product lifespans, that doesn’t exclude watches from receiving a makeover.
The newest version of the Tradition Chronographe Indépendent, with the reference 7077BB/GY/9XV, follows the creative thinking that drove Abraham-Louis Breguet when he was working on his watches and is a union of two halves. The time dial with elegant clous de Paris guilloché takes centre stage at the top of the watch’s “dial”. To the right is the power reserve indicator and below that is the watch’s balance wheel. To the left of that is the watch’s balance wheel, and no, I didn’t mistype.
As the name implies, the chronograph of the Tradition Chronographe Indépendent is independent of the watch’s time-telling. Using the screw-down pusher at 4 O’clock activates the black balance wheel which starts the chronograph. The incredibly long and thin centre second hand begins moving at the elapsed minutes are displayed on the retrograde display above the chronograph’s balance wheel. The other pusher stops and resets it.
The Tradition Chronographe Indépendent uses one mainspring barrel to power both the timing escapement and the chronograph escapement. Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Duomètre Chronograph works in a similar manner, although it splits the spring barrels and gear trains apart and uses one escapement for it all. That restricts the chronograph to whatever beat rate the single balance wheel oscillates at; the Tradition doesn’t feature this problem and, indeed, has a 5Hz frequency chronograph, while the main time function’s balance wheel beats at only 3Hz. The 5Hz escapement is more power-hungry but delivers a more accurate result.
To deliver smooth operation, Breguet also devised a system to ensure the chronograph escapement is always ready to go and stops when the watch is running low on power. A cam-operated restrainer releases the balance wheel when the chronograph is activated and stops the wheel when it’s stopped; when the chronograph is reset, a blade spring is primed, ready to deliver optimal power to the balance wheel so there is no delay while the balance wheel gains momentum as is typical when starting a stopped wristwatch (that is, in essence, what we’re doing here). A second stop system prevents the chronograph from running if there isn’t enough power reserve and this, along with the blade spring and pretty much all of the watch’s design, is how Breguet ensures the chronograph’s operation is very accurate. These systems are also patented.
All of this complexity makes up the calibre 580DR which features unique grain-finished surfaces contrasted by brushing and polishing. The depth of the movement on the dial side also influences how the watch looks, creating the “tiny city” effect we love from watches like A.Lange & Söhne’s Datograph models. The watch’s power reserve is 55-hours.
All of that is housed inside an 18k white gold case measuring 44mm x 14.4mm and comes on a blue alligator strap with a white gold folding buckle. It’s a big watch, but it can be excused given the complexity going on inside it, and the new “Breguet blue” colouring adds a touch of modernity, showing that there’s plenty of life left in the 7077. The long second’s hand, however, is a much-needed change as although the blue ones on the other models are lovely, their slenderness renders them invisible in the wrong lighting. Still, I’d need to wear one to determine whether that’s changed. Hint much?
The price of one of these, including taxes, is CHF86,500.
