BREGUET Type XXII 3880 ST

For the 50th anniversary of the Type XX, Breguet is introducing a contemporary, technically updated reinterpretation of that legendary chronograph.





For the 50th anniversary of the first deliveries of its famed Type XX watches designed for the French naval air arm, Breguet is introducing a contemporary, technically updated reinterpretation of that legendary chronograph, the Type XXII design. Its stainless steel case, 44 mm across, houses a Breguet chronograph movement with silicon escapement and flat balance spring whose frequency has been raised to 10 Hertz (i.e. 72,000 vibrations per hour), endowing the movement with exceptional regulating power, its chronograph seconds hand effecting a complete rotation in 30 seconds. The timepiece’s start function and readout are thus twice as precise.

BREGUET - Tradition 7047

It is common knowledge among connoisseurs that Breguet has always been in the technological vanguard when it comes to the balance-spring. This central piece of the movement underwent a major innovation in 2006 when Breguet introduced the first watches equipped with a balance-spring and escapement in silicon. This sophisticated material, which is completely impervious to magnetic fields and far lighter than metal, is now making its appearance in the Tradition 7047 model with tourbillon and fusée and chain transmission. Its balance-spring represents a major watch industry accomplishment due to the extremely complex construction of the famous Breguet overcoil balance-spring. Inspired by the architecture of the first tourbillon pocket-watches from the House, this platinum model unveils some of the secrets of its movement coated with a special dark grey coloured metal alloy. The result is a resolutely high-tech watch that paves the way for some exciting development prospects.

  

Tradition 7047

• Movement: mechanical hand-wound
• Calibre 569 Case: platinum
• Diameter: 41mm
• Functions: hours, minutes, tourbillon, 50-hour power reserve
• Caseback: sapphire crystal
• Strap: leather
• Water resistance: 30m

Breguet Tourbillon Messidor

The Breguet Tourbillon Messidor is a handsome hand-wound skeletonized 18-carat rose gold watch with great pedigree. Named in honor of A. L. Breguet and his patent, it features a mystery tourbillon cage mounted on sapphire discs, giving the impression that the tourbillon is floating. Breguet patented its 'floating' tourbillon on the same day, which more than 200 years ago, was the 7th Messidor of year IX (June 26, 1801) of the French Republican Calendar. Named after the Latin word messis meaning 'harvest', Messidor was the tenth month in the French Republican Calendar, which starts June 19 or June 20. It also represented the first month of the summer quarter (mois d'été). This calendar was proposed during the French Revolution (1789-1799), and subsequently used by the French government for 12 years from late 1793.

The Messidor uses a 558 SQ2 caliber movement, housed in Breguet's unmistakable coin edge case. Its casing is 40mm in diameter with a thickness of only 9.65mm - a refreshing slimness in contrast to the growing number of tall watches today. The Messidor also features a sapphire crystal caseback that exhibits an exquisitely brush-finished movement that has a power reserve of 50 hours. In my opinion, this is easily the most handsome conventional tourbillon in Breguet's collection. It has traditional roots but is also clearly a modern interpretation of the classic skeleton tourbillon.

The Tourbillon regulator with running seconds on the Tourbillon carriage is located at 6 o'clock where it is secured by two sapphire crystals in a gold bezel on the dial crystal. The actual watch dial is also displayed off-centered at 12 o'clock but due to its open dial design, it is not easy to tell the time especially in low lighting conditions. The dark blue hands - while beautifully crafted, provide insufficient contrast for easy reading of the time. Fortunately, the watch has pink gold studs hour markers embedded on the sapphire crystal, which improves visibility. Despite this, the watch, on the whole, is beautifully balanced and looks wonderful on the wrist.

What’s A Tourbillon Really Worth?thomas

 

Bell & Ross BR01 Tourbillon

Later this week we will be presenting our “on-the-wrist” review of this watch from Chinese manufacturer, Longio. Whilst not yet on the mainstream radar this Hong Kong based brand is really making a conceited effort to break into the luxury watch market by offering watches that have been constructed fully in-house, including the automatic movement which features a tourbillon complication.

This got us thinking: what is the real value of a tourbillon and its associated variations? Will the introduction of these Chinese made alternatives impact negatively on this value or has the damage already been done through the excessive use of this not so rare complication by over-exuberant European brands attempting to establish their watch making credentials?

Undeniably the tourbillon has to be one of the most commonly used complications in watch-making today, though that’s not to say that its still not an impressive piece of engineering. Notwithstanding that fact, at its heart its purpose is purely aesthetic and offers no tangible benefit to the wearer other than something attractive to look at on the watch dial.

 

Breguet – the original tourbillon master

It should be acknowledged here though, that there are those who take the art of the Tourbillon to another level. Brands such as Breguet or individuals like Thomas Prescher are names that immediately spring to mind. Thomas’ mind-blowing creations including the Triple-Axis Flying Tourbillon and the Mysterious Automatic Double-Axis Tourbillon provide exemplary illustrations of what a true master is capable of achieving with the tourbillon complication.

However, it seems that for most brands the humble tourbillon is the complication most often called upon to help them make the step from mainstream watch maker into the world of haute horologerie. Arguably this is because of the known complications available (and trust us, there are many more yet to be invented, just look at Ludovic Ballouard’s gloriously original Upside Down watch) the tourbillon is one of the easiest to make relative to the level of impact it has on the wearer. For example, a perpetual calendar, whilst far more useful simply does not have the same visual appeal as a flying tourbillon complication, although many would say that the latter is a redundant technology.

 

Chinese-made Longio Telamon Diving Watch with Classic Tourbillon complication

So this takes us back to our original question, what is the real value of a tourbillon complication?

In our opinion, the tourbillon is so widely used now that the introduction of Chinese brands which feature this complication

(and there are many more than just Longio) will only have a marginal impact on the overall value of the tourbillon.Certainly it will make this attractive complication far more accessible to mainstream consumers but it seems to us that the European brands are doing more than enough to diminish the value of this centuries-old masterpiece of engineering that the impact will simply not be that noticeable.

Which brings us to our next question: is the inclusion of this somewhat common complication enough for a Chinese brand to break into the luxury market?

Again, in our humble opinions we think not. Yes, the fact that Chinese manufacturers have been able to create a tourbillon movement of their own (albeit a not too accurate one at +/- 30 seconds a day) should send up red flags over in Switzerland, but is it really enough to make these brands stand-out? Where is the creativity? European manufacturers have been incorporating tourbillon complications into their high-end timepieces for several decades, in our opinion if Chinese manufacturers really want to have a fighting chance at the upper-end of the market they really need to do something dramatically different!

 

The Santos 100 by Cartier with tourbillon complication

thewatchlounge.com

BREGUET - Breguet tradition fusée tourbillon with silicon balance spring

The Breguet silicon balance spring enhances the new Breguet Tradition timepiece


The balance spring is one of a series of vital parts at the heart of the movement. Its regular oscillations give the movement its rhythm and regulate the flow of time. Crucial to the workings of a mechanical watch movement, the balance spring is also the most responsive in terms of improvements to timekeeping precision.

Breguet tradition fusée tourbillon with silicon balance spring

The balance spring is a very fine coil spring. Usually made of metal, it is vulnerable to shocks, magnetic fields and even the pull of gravity, which can cause warping. Made and marketed by Nivarox-FAR, a Swatch Group enterprise, the alloy traditionally utilised to make balance springs is designed to increase its rigidity as its temperature increases, offsetting in this way the balance’s increased inertia stemming from the latter’s heat expansion.
Long viewed as one of the key components of movement precision, the balance spring has benefited from a lot of research and experimentation, with Breguet leading the way.

In 1795, Breguet conceived the “Breguet overcoil” spring, today still the reference in terms of balance springs, the choice of the finest watch houses and craft watchmakers. A.-L. Breguet got the idea of altering the balance spring’s terminal curve by raising its end and bending it slightly as a way of improving its isochronism. Another Breguet, Louis-Clément, in 1830 sought to prevail over magnetic fields by crafting balance springs in glass instead of metal. Breguet himself had made balance springs in gold to counter oxidation. One such cylindrical spring was fitted in the celebrated Marie-Antoinette watch; its shape was designed to improve considerably its isochronism by repoising its centre of gravity.

In 2006, Breget introduced its first wristwatches with silicon balance spring and escapement. It combines the advantages and qualities of the earlier experiments. Silicon also possesses advantages of its own:
• Silicon is totally impervious to magnetic fields. Practical measurements have confirmed that when exposed to over twice the magnetic influence mandated by NIHS standards, silicon posted results 15 times better than the standard.
• The manufacturing operations of a silicon balance spring yield a broad variety of shapes, facilitating the highly accurate adaptation of its shape to precisely calculated models. The gap between two silicon coils can be varied according to the spring’s specific function because silicon springs are produced by direct in-depth etching of silicon wafers and not by spiral winding like metal springs.
• Silicon balance springs are lighter than metal ones and thus less prone to deformation caused by the pull of gravity. They are also less vulnerable to shocks and provide far superior resistance to corrosion.
• Components fashioned from silicon are subjected to a special process that greatly improves their resistance to handling and shocks.

Breguet tradition fusée tourbillon with silicon balance spring

These silicon components are already in industrial production and incorporated in four Breguet calibres which are themselves in volume production.
One of the challenges of using silicon balance springs is the determination of their temperature coefficient. It defines the watch’s capacity to maintain a steady rate whatever its running temperature. In this area, Breguet has benefited from a joint development with the Swiss Electronics and Microtechnology Centre (Swatch Group participation) and two other Swiss watch houses, for which a patent has been awarded.

After four years of service in various watch movements, Breguet can report satisfactory results with flat silicon balance springs. The next step was to turn out silicon balance springs featuring the celebrated ”Breguet” terminal curve. Actually putting a curve into a sliver of silicon represented no mean exploit in the world of watchmaking. The springs are usually cut from flat wafers and remain uniformly thin strips. Getting silicon, devoid of the malleability of metal, to form a bend rising up from the coil required a complete rethinking of the production process, a technical challenge brilliantly mastered by Breguet technicians. The Breguet silicon balance spring will now be adding its specific advantages to silicon’s on all Breguet movements, whatever their basic configuration.
Today, the new Breguet silicon balance spring is featured in the Breguet Tradition 7047 model with tourbillon and fusee-and-chain transmission. Inspired by the design of the first tourbillon-equipped pocket watches devised by Breguet himself, a platinum version is now available fitted with a movement fashioned in an anthracite-toned metal alloy. Its surface finish was obtained by a new and improved electrodeposition process using an alloy of precious metals of the platinum group with a hue darker than ruthenium’s.
The fusee-and-chain transmission connected to the barrel ensures constant force for as long as the watch is running. A number of patents applications involve the large tourbillon resonator at one o’clock on the watch face, one for a titanium balance and three relating to Breguet silicon balance springs. A further patent was awarded for a power-reserve indicator positioned directly on the barrel.

Displaying impressive technical sophistication, this timepiece is the pride of Manufacture Breguet. The company is and remains an undisputed pioneer in horological research and development. Not only does it have numerous inventions to its credit, it is also able to exploit its technical advances in timepieces available on the market without undue delay or quantitative limitations.

Its new silicon balance spring opens promising avenues of development for Breguet, sure to generate further surprising achievements in the years ahead.

Breguet tradition fusée tourbillon with silicon balance spring

TECHNICAL FEATURES

"Tradition Breguet - Fusée tourbillon with silicon balance spring"

REF. 7047PT/11/9ZU

Case round in 950 Platinum with finely fluted caseband. Sapphire caseback. Diameter: 41 mm. Rounded horns welded to the case, with screw pins securing the strap. Water-resistant to 3 bar (30m).

Dial in silvered 18K gold, hand-engraved on a rose engine off-centred at 7 o’clock. Individually numbered and signed Breguet. Chapter ring with Roman numerals. 60-second tourbillon positioned at 1 o’clock. Open-tipped Breguet hands in polished steel.

Movement hand-wound mechanical movement clad in an anthracite gray alloy of platinum-group metals, with tourbillon regulator. Numbered and signed Breguet. Cal. 569. 16 lines, 43 jewels, 2.5-Hz frequency. Power reserve of 50 hours with power-reserve indication on the barrel drum. Torque regularity throughout the operation of the watch provided by fusee-and-chain transmission. Upper bridge of the tourbillon carriage in titanium. Breguet-shaped thin bar (barrette) in nonmagnetic stainless steel. Straight-line lever escapement. Breguet balance in titanium with four adjustment screws in gold. BREGUET balance spring in silicon. Adjusted in 6 positions.

Breguet novelties, Part III

**This is  Breguet novelties, Part III.To see  Part I, Part II

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/

Breguet novelties 2009, Part II

**This is Breguet novelties 2009, Part II,To see Part I

Breguet’s grandest watch unveiled at Baselworld 2009 was the Classique Grande Complication 7637, a minute repeater with power reserve and day-night indicators. The watch is presented in a large, 42 mm case and utilises a “re-engineered” movement.

The calibre inside is not entirely new, it is an improved version of the long in tooth Lemania cal. 399 minute repeater movement found in the previous incarnation of the Breguet minute repeater. The Lemania cal. 399 is likely based on some vintage repeater calibre, with the design of the bridges and its 18,000 bph escapement being two clues; no one designs movements like that anymore, I cannot think of a minute repeater calibre designed in the past 5 years with such a bridge layout.

From the back the view is interesting for several reasons. The movement has a unique colour scheme; it is almost entirely silver in tone, including the balance wheel. And because the gold gongs match the colour of the case, they are not especially prominent, leaving the movement looking very silver and small in the large case.

The movement is decorated with hand engraving in the usual frilly baroque style. Breguet engraving has always appeared inconsistent to me, sometimes it is delicate and fine of the quality of Vacheron Constantin, and at other times it is not. This watch unfortunately does not sport the quality of work that one would expect for such an expensive watch; the engraved lines and shapes are not clean and consistent.

From what I understand the main change to the movement is solid gold gong. Whatever Breguet may claim it sounds similar to the previous Breguet repeaters – which were sometimes good but mostly sufficient – though this is perhaps louder. The sound is no clearer than before; the buzz of the regulator is still evident.

While I like the look of this repeater, despite its size which makes it look like a pocket watch with lugs, it is not a class-leading product; it is not one of the best sounding or finished repeaters out there. That is strange because Breguet is capable of making terrific products, the La Tradition tourbillon being a good example of a unique, inspired product that is competitively priced (a tourbillon is never cheap).



Another watch unveiled at Baselworld was another watch with aural qualities – the Marine Royale. It is a sports/diver’s alarm watch, in the great tradition of such watches as pioneered by the revered JLC Extreme World Compressor Alarm and other such pedigreed watches – the logic behind such watches is perhaps sound does travel better underwater while vision is impaired.

The Marine Royale is a bizarre combinations of design elements: a sharp, aggressive-looking bezel with a serrated edge, enormous buttons and crowns, combined with a guilloche dial, Breguet hands (even more bizarrely the minute hand has the ‘pomme’ filled with Luminova while the hour hand has the tip filled instead) and a charming but tiny quaver that indicates the alarm. Wow.

To accommodate all that styling the case is 45 mm. And it is heavy because it is available in rose or white gold. Nothing more needs to be said.

**Continue Part III

By SJX

From http://breguet.watchprosite.com/