Tradition Collection, The Spirit of Origins

Breguet's tradition collection was the first to reveal its entire movements on the dial side Launched in 2005, it is inspired by the minimalist souscription watches introduced in 1797 by its founder Abraham-Louis Breguet, and by their interpretations as à tact watches as of the following year. The main characteristic of these simple movements is their symmetrical construction, generally with a central barrel and circular wheels, including center and balance wheels of equal diameter at each end. The oscillating organ is also equipped with a pare-chute device, the name given to the ancestor of shock protection systems invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1790. The time is read off a small offset dial, borrowed from certain à tact watches, usually placed at 12 o’clock.

The Tradition 7597 launched in 2020 is distinguished by the display of a retrograde calendar, a nod to the brand founder who was one of the first to create this complication. In the contemporary watch, the hand that passes over the wheels is skillfully angled on the vertical plane. It ends obliquely to point to a scale extending over almost 180 degrees, graduated with Arabic numerals for the odd dates and dots for the even dates. To set the function, the crown at 10 o’clock is unscrewed and successive presses move the hand to the desired date.

In 2022, the Tradition Quantième Rétrograde is introduced in a Monochrome Royal version, distinguished by the royal blue gracing the dial and the date sector. The former is naturally in gold, secured by screws, adorned in its center with a hand-guilloché Clous de Paris hobnail motif, punctuated by traditional Roman numerals and swept over by open-tipped Breguet hands. On the date display, transferred silver-toned numerals alternate with white gold cabochons. The Tradition Quantième Rétrograde Monochrome Royal is presented in a case with a fluted white gold caseband and a midnight blue alligator strap. 

The movement is still self-winding Caliber 505Q self- equipped with an inverted in-line lever escapement featuring pallets made of silicon, a material also used to produce the Breguet overcoil balance spring. Silicon is resistant to corrosion and wear, insensitive to the influence of magnetic fields and improves the chronometry of the watch. The mainplate and bridges with their anthracite treatment beautifully highlight the royal blue of the latest Tradition 7597. On the reverse side, the sapphire caseback reveals the original shape of the oscillating weight: it too makes reference to the past, adopting a design reminiscent of the rotor on the perpetual watch created by Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1780.

A Singular Tradition

The Tradition Tourbillon 7047 launched in 2007 is an exception within the Tradition collection, not only because it features the most famous of Abraham-Louis Breguet’s inventions, but also because it is the subject of a specific stage-setting that is very distinctive compared with the other models in the collection. The tourbillon, which compensates for gravity-induced rate errors, is associated with a fusee-and-chain device that optimizes precision by ensuring constant force throughout the unwinding of the barrel spring. Both spectacular mechanisms are highlighted on the right-hand side of the movement. The hours and minutes dial is off-centered accordingly at 7 o’clock and the barrel at 9 o’clock. The latter notably bears a power-reserve e indicator, unusually positioned directly on the drum and protected by a patent. Caliber 569 powering the watch is a hand-wound model which, like the other movements in the collection, benefits from the advantages of silicon used for its escapement pallets and balance spring. 

Like the newly introduced Tradition Quantième Rétrograde, the new Tradition Tourbillon is distinguished by touches of intense blue. While the chain of the fusee-chain device has been blued by thermal treatment, the tourbillon carriage has been surface-coated, as has the gold dial, which incorporates the collection’s aesthetic codes including a Clous de Paris hobnail guilloché pattern, traditional Roman numerals and Breguet hands. 

When the Marine Collection Welcomes the Hora Mundi Complication

Launched in 2011 in the Classique collection, Breguet’s Hora Mundi is an exceptional dual time complication protected by four patents and which took three years to develop. In a nutshell, two time zones are memorized and can be instantly switched from one to the other. Setting the first involves proceeding in the usual way by choosing the desired city and successively adjusting the corresponding indicators, the time, the date and the day/night display represented by a sun and a moon. For the second time zone, one needs only to select the city and the corresponding indicators are set automatically. Once both are memorized, one or the other can be displayed with disconcerting ease, by simply pressing the pusher at 8 o’clock. The Hora Mundi can of course be reprogrammed with other cities at will.

For its entry into the Marine collection, the Hora Mundi features a multi-level design brimming with subtle touches. The gold dial, adorned with hand-guilloché waves and coated in abyss blue, bears a world map of continents with satin-brushed white surfaces and turquoise metallic borders. Above this depiction, the meridians appear on a sapphire crystal plate, with the surrounding flange holding all the elements in place. In the date window, the background is slightly blurred using an ancient technique, producing a matt yet shiny effect, while a small U-shaped retrograde hand accompanies the progression of the corresponding trailing date. The rose gold sun and rhodium-plated moon gracing the day/night indicaton, are hand-hammered, while a ship’s anchor above the time zones highlights the reference city. Both technically and aesthetically remarkable, the Marine Hora Mundi is available with rose or white gold cases, fitted with a rubber or leather strap or a gold bracelet.