Master of arts
Abraham-Louis Breguet was one of the most influential inventors in watch history and his legacy is still alive and ticking.
The word “genius” has become so diluted it’s almost devoid of real meaning. Yet AbrahamLouis Breguet is a man genuinely worthy of the title. Born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in 1747, Breguet opened his maison in 1775 in Paris, where his many innovations would go on to shape the watchmaking world, to the point that he’s now referred to as “the Leonardo da Vinci of horology”.
For starters, Breguet is widely credited with inventing the wristwatch itself, in 1810. Working on a commission from the Queen of Naples, he contrived a thin, oval timepiece that could be fastened to the wrist by a bracelet made from hair and golden thread. But his innovations didn’t stop there. He also dreamed up an oscillating weight “à secousses”, which responded to the wearer’s movements and wound the watch, the first gravity-defying tourbillon and the first minute-repeater gong, which audibly sounded the time. Breguet designed his watches to last and pioneered the first horological shockabsorption system, with the invention of a “pare-chute” that mounted the most delicate parts of a movement at the end of a spring. As the story goes, Breguet unveiled this technology at a party by hurling his timepiece to the floor, before passing the still-ticking marvel around a crowd of amazed onlookers.
Early in his career, Breguet moved away from the lavish ornamentation that adorned watches of the time to develop his own, more considered design language, including his signature watch hands. “Breguet hands”, as they’ve become known, are characterised by their hollowed-out “moon tip” circles that culminate in pointed nibs and make their position easier to read. Breguet hands have subsequently been used by a number of other international watch brands.
Breguet also understood that watches are ultimately tactile items that can be elevated with different textures and forms. The brand’s caseband fluting, in which a series of fine grooves are etched into the side of the case, is an example of one of its calling cards. Another of its signatures is guilloché, a technique in which delicate patterns are engraved on a watch dial using a manual lathe. This intricate embellishment is precise to onetenth of a millimetre, can vary from chequered designs to undulating waves and serves to reduce reflection while increasing legibility. Two further identifying details reinforce the authenticity of each Breguet watch – every dial is stamped with a unique production number and etched with a “secret signature” that’s only visible in certain light.
THE BREGUET CLASSIQUE CALENDRIER 7337
Breguet’s reputation is founded on both style and substance. These dual qualities are clearly on show in the Classique Calendrier 7337. The watch’s off-centre dial provides a stage for those famous Breguet hands, while the face of the timepiece is hand-engraved with a very fine Clous de Paris hobnail guilloché pattern that contrasts with the circular barleycorn texture of the outer dial. Flip the watch over to discover further decorative flair with the in-house Breguet calibre 502 – a self-winding movement fitted with a silicon balance spring and a 45-hour power reserve – replete with Côtes de Genève striping and chamfered edges on the bridges.
Further detail enriches the moon-phase complication at 12 o’clock. Here, the handhammered moon sits in a sky coated with a deep-blue lacquer and dotted with tiny stars. Date and day displays bring reassuring balance to the dial with symmetrical positioning at two and 10 o’clock. While there’s much to take in, every detail is given the space to breathe within the 39-millimetre case, which, at just 9.95 millimetres thick, will slide under a tailored cuff with ease.
Learn more at breguet.com