I am ambivalent about the Breguet La Tradition. I like the original in yellow gold, I like the way it looks and I like the concept. While mechanically straightforward the movement is unique and well finished. The La Tradition is distinctive and easily recognisable as a Breguet; it is a brilliant product of the kind that can define a brand.
But the yellow gold La Tradition is not a subtle watch. Enter the white gold version, more discreet, yes, but the colour scheme is too incongruous with the design. A watch in that style, so heavily inspired by an original Breguet pocket watch, simply cannot be white gold.
Now Breguet has gone a step further and introduced the La Tradition in the trendiest colours of today – black, ruthenium and rose gold. These are by no means ugly watches; in fact they are attractive and well executed. These will no doubt broaden the group of La Tradition owners, just as the Marine Royale will appeal to a new segment of consumers who would not otherwise consider wearing Breguet.
But I cannot get around the conceptual dissonance of the new La Tradition. As with the white gold variant, the new grey-black look is completely at odds with the design. Perhaps I am an extreme purist (with a small “p”), but I want this design in any colour so long as it’s yellow gold.
At the same time, this variation on a theme, playing around with the colour palette a la Hublot, smacks of a dearth of good ideas, especially when the new colours are hardly new. I expect a rose gold-chocolate dial version soon, followed by a white gold-ardoise. The grand house that created the La Tradition surely can do better than making the same old watch in a new colour? But maybe I am being too harsh.
Breguet is the company with the best chance of toppling Patek as the brand that is widely regarded as the premier watchmaker of Switzerland. That doesn’t mean Breguet will emerge preeminent, it just means Breguet has the best chance, albeit a small one.
Why? Because Breguet has two essential qualities – a glorious history and a strong brand identity – and it has them in spades. Breguet’s history is a remarkable asset – Napoleon, Churchill, the invention of the tourbillon, enough for an eternity of marketing material. Add to that the characteristic Breguet look – blued steel Breguet hands, guilloche dial, and fluted case – and you have an enviable formula.
Will it get there? I don’t know. Breguet certainly has a much better chance now than a decade ago while still under Investcorp ownership.
Watches like the original La Tradition and the La Tradition chain-and-fusee tourbillon are the kind of uncommon pieces are needed for that to happen. I expect more such exceptional timepieces. Perhaps Breguet will launch another timepiece later this year, something interesting and impressive, which will be the talking piece for 2009.
By SFX
From http://breguet.watchprosite.com/
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