BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Recently, we talked about the release of Breguet’s brand new Expérimentale 1 watch, the first piece in the new Experiémentale collection and arguably Breguet’s most innovative watch in years. You all shared your thoughts in the comments section, and you had a wide variety of opinions. I’m therefore interested in what you’ll make of these two other watches, which quietly slipped into the party while the Expérimentale was hogging the limelight.
Breguet Classique Répétition Minutes 7365
First up is a limited edition piece of only 25 pieces. The Classique Répétition Minutes 7365 is another part of Breguet’s grand finale for its 250th anniversary celebrations. It features a case made of Breguet gold, the brand’s proprietary fade-resistant rose gold alloy, measuring 39mm x 10.8mm. Also, for the first time from the brand for a minute repeater watch, the case is water resistant – it’s only to 30m, but it’s better than nothing. A ‘Bleu de France’ grande feu enamel dial with Breguet’s hand-engraved secret signature presents a clean and unfussy look completed by Breguet gold hands and applied markers. The secret signature was one way Abraham-Louis Breguet ensured his watches could be authenticated; even back in the day they had copies, although I hardly think the people behind those watches would bother attempting to recreate the craftsmanship on display here. They might as well go legitimate at that point.
Visible through the sapphire crystal caseback is the hand-wound calibre 1896. It’s made from Breguet gold and is a direct replacement for the calibre 567.2, which was used in the brand’s older minute-repeating watches. The 567.2 will gradually be phased out and replaced by the new 1896. The white gold gong springs for the minute repeater are gilded in Breguet gold and attached directly to the case for better resonance, which means more volume and clarity. A hand-engraved representation of the Quai de l’Horloge in Paris (where A-L Breguet’s workshop once stood) is on the upper portion of the movement, while the lower section has an engraving representing the Vallée de Joux in Switzerland, where the manufacture is now located. The calibre 1896 has a 75-hour power reserve and a 3Hz beat rate, as well as silicon escapement components. Breguet says it’s accurate to within ±2 seconds per day.
The price of one of these is $369,600.
Breguet Classique Grande Sonnerie Métiers d’Art 1905
I really would forgive you for doing a double-take on this pocket watch. However, you might be surprised to know that this isn’t the first pocket watch Breguet’s made since the 19th century. Indeed, we’ve actually talked about the ‘other’ pocket watch Breguet makes, which at the time was called the Classique Complications ref 1907 but now shows up on their website as the Montre de Poche ref 1907, as the Classique Complications name was phased out. I mean it with the best will in the world when I say that I have absolutely no idea who’s buying these pocket watches, but I can only assume the number of buyers ranges in the ones. Nevertheless, there’s a new one for the 250th birthday bash, so we shall talk about it.
It’s clear to me that Breguet pulled no punches with this piece – in modern internet slang, they cooked. The front of the pocket watch’s cover is hand-decorated with engraved and enamelled representations of the course of the river Seine in Paris. The watch’s caseback is engraved with Breguet’s Quai de l’Horloge guilloché, which has then been enamelled with the same ‘Bleu de France’ colour as the 7365.
The regulator dial is made of Breguet gold and features the brand’s signature Quai de l’Horloge guilloché. The hour dial is made of white grande feu enamel with Breguet numerals and hands, and the blued hammers for the gongs and the skeletonised cock supporting the tourbillon are also on display.
Visible through a sapphire window underneath that engraved caseback is the manually-wound calibre 508GS, which is made of rhodium-plated brass, the traditional Swiss way of doing it. As well as the one-minute tourbillon (with 2.5Hz balance wheel), and the minute repeater, there are also the grande and petite sonneries. Whereas a minute repeater chimes the time on demand, sonneries chime the passage of time automatically, and the user can choose which to use. The petite sonnerie function chimes the hour number on the hour, but only on the hour; when a quarter hour has passed, only the quarter hours are chimed. When selected, the grande sonnerie chimes the hour number on the hour, but also chimes the hour number at the quarter hours alongside the quarter hour chimes. This is complicated watchmaking at the highest level and a demonstration of Breguet’s technical abilities. And yes, you can turn the sonneries off if you want some quiet, but I would never do that, unless it was to save power. The movement’s power reserve lasts for 56 hours, but if you want those power-hungry sonneries to ring out the time, that reserve drops to 36 hours.
The watch measures 43mm x 14.7mm, meaning it’s still way smaller and thinner than the old Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Chronograph 45.5mm despite having 539 components in it and being one of the most complicated watches that one of the most respected names in the industry makes. The watch is presented with a Breguet gold chain to match the case and, interestingly, features a competitive five-year international warranty (the 7365 does too). Unlike the 7365, the 1905 is presented in a special case made from the last remaining pieces of Marie-Antoinette’s favourite oak tree, planted in 1691 but damaged by a storm in 1999 and felled in 2005. Breguet last used this tree for the special box in which their recreation of the famous ‘Marie Antoinette’ watch was presented. You can tell, then, that they aren’t making many of these. The price of one of these is only available on request, as is the watch itself, as they will only make them to order, and they take six months to produce.
