Exactly 220 years later, the House of Breguet is paying homage to its founder’s invention, which opened up a new world of precision, stability, and elegance in fine horology. Breguet’s tribute comes in the form of the Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Anniversaire 5365.
This timepiece housed in a 41 mm rose gold case is released in a limited run of 35 individually numbered pieces —the same number of tourbillon watches made during Abraham-Louis Breguet’s lifetime— is a heartfelt tribute to the timeless aesthetic and visionary genius of the master-watchmaker. In its attempts at authenticity, Breguet’s design for this timepiece is elegant and understated, reaffirming the brand’s standards put in place by its founder.
The same can also be said of the various engine-turned motifs adorning the 18K silvered gold dial. As well as becoming one of Breguet’s aesthetic hallmarks, engine-turning, also known as guillochage, possesses very specific watchmaking features. By offering surfaces with finely worked irregularities, the technique allows light to be captured in a variety of ways, ranging from the utmost clarity to a more matte finish. Light captured in this way enables the different reading zones on the dial to be clearly marked. Engine-turned surfaces are also better protected from the ravages of time than a polished finish, which are overly shiny and prone to corrosion and scratches. Finally, engine-turned surfaces offer the relief needed in order to collect the micro-dust that could have degraded the chronometric performance of the first pocket watches more than two centuries ago.
Throughout its history, Breguet has refined both the range of its engine-turning work and its predilection for specific motifs. Such is the case with the Clous de Paris, which takes up the entire central part of the timepiece. Handmade with a diamond chisel, it is created by interlacing engraved and crossed lines with a pitch of only 0.25 millimeters. From a distance of 50 centimeters —the usual distance for reading a wristwatch—, it gives the illusion of a matte finish. This makes it easier to read the hours and minutes, indicated by the two central blued steel off-centered open-tipped hands, now known as “Breguet hands.” On the periphery, the piece is decorated with a grain d’orge —barley grain— motif that is cherished by the brand. On the rear of the piece, the platinum rotor is engine- turned with a wave motif.
For this anniversary piece, Breguet has fitted its reference 5365 with a 60-second tourbillon, visible between 4 and 6 o’clock, with one of these axes showing the seconds. More eagle-eyed horologists will notice two special features. Firstly, the piece’s upper bridge is made of blued steel, which is something of an unusual finish for a tourbillon in the Classique collection. Secondly, the cartouche affixed above the tourbillon, bears the text “Brevet No. 157”, a reference to the patent number awarded to Abraham-Louis Breguet for his invention a mere 220 years ago.
This tribute is repeated on the rear of the piece, via the engraving “Anniversaire 1801–2021” on the barrel, and “Brevet No 157 Du 7 Messidor An IX” upon the lower bridge of the tourbillon, alongside the individual number of each piece. All of these references, along with the Breguet signature on the rotor, are engraved by hand. To the right of the movement, there is a faithful reproduction of the original watercolor plate used by Abraham-Louis Breguet when filing his 1801 patent application for a tourbillon regulator. The movement powering this watch is the automatic Breguet in-house calibre 581 with 33 jewels and which provides a power reserve of 80 hours when fully wound.
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