Time on the High Seas
Breguet’s remastered Marine Collection exudes elegance and fine craftmanship
The name conjures images of elegance, heritage, the classics. After all, its founder, Abraham-Louis Breguet was watchmaker to the royals, such as Empress Caroline, Napoleon, and the infamous Marie-Antoinette.
Abraham-Louis was also the official watchmaker of the French Royal Navy—a position not to be taken lightly. Back then, ship navigation relied on marine chronometres; and a timekeeping instrument off by even two seconds could send a ship out of its course by nearly a kilometre.
It is this latter period of Breguet’s heritage that the brand now pays tribute to with the newly revamped Marine collection. Recently relaunched with four models, the Marine collection still features the elegant aesthetics and meticulous attention to details that Breguet is known for. These iterations, however, have a more modern, sportier vibe (some models come with rubber bracelets!). Of course, the precision, the innovation, and the technological know-how that started with Abraham-Louis Breguet are ever present.
You can see that in the glory that is the Marine Equation Marchante 5887. Contained in a 43.8mm case are three of the most complex complications—the running equation of time, the perpetual calendar, and the tourbillon. You have a choice of a platinum case with a blue gold dial, or an 18C rose gold case with a silvered gold dial. Sapphire crystals dial-side and on the caseback allow you to gaze at the meticulously laid-out dial and the exquisitely engraved bridges.
The Marine Equation Marchante is the watch you’d get to indulge yourself. After all, who truly needs to know the equation of time, or the difference between mean solar time (the typical 24 hours) and apparent solar time (the time that it actually takes for the sun to return to the same point in the sky, which can be -14/+16 minutes in a
day)? A perpetual calendar, while saving you the effort needed to adjust the watch at the end of every month that has 30 days or less for the next hundred years or so, would still perform the job of a regular date function. And finally, a tourbillon, invented and patented by Breguet himself in 1801 to help maintain timepieces’ precision, is debatably superfluous, what with modernday materials and technologies. All these functions, however, together with the Breguet craftsmanship, make the watch highly desirable.
That impeccable craftsmanship is also seen in the Marine Alarm Musicale 5547. Like the Marine Equation Marchante, the Marine Alarm Musicale also boasts three complications, albeit more practical ones: an alarm, a second time zone, and the date. The date—shown on the dial at 6 o’clock—is just like the time, a basic snippet of information you’d need throughout the day. A second time zone, like the one in its own subdial at 9 o’clock, is infinitely useful when you travel a lot, or when you need to track another time zone. And of course, the alarm. The Marine Alarm Musicale rings at the time you set, perfect for getting you out of bed, or for reminding you of a task. The bonus? It doesn’t sound like your typical, tinny alarm clock.
The Marine Alarm Musicale 5547 comes in three case options: white gold with a blue dial; rose gold with silvered dial; or titanium with a slate gray dial. You can also choose between a leather or a rubber strap. The last two models of the Marine collection also come with a choice of leather or rubber straps. These two—the Marine Chronographe 5527 and the Marine 5517—would probably be your daily workhorses from the Breguet Marine line. While they maintain the elegance and craftsmanship of Breguet, the 5517 and the Chronographe 5527 are both straightforward watches. The 5517 displays the date through a window at 3 o’clock, and time is indicated by the famous Breguet hands, and the Roman numerals on the chapter ring on the dial. The Chronographe 5527, on the other hand, shifts the date window between 4 and 5 o’clock to make way for the subdials. The chronograph function measures the time via the minutes counter at 3 o’clock, the hours counter at 6 o’clock, and the central chronograph hands measures out the seconds. Regular seconds are viewed on the third subdial at 9 o’ clock.
The Chronographe 5527 and the 5517 are available in a white gold case, a rose gold one, or in titanium at all Lucerne stores.
It is this latter period of Breguet’s heritage that the brand now pays tribute to with the newly revamped Marine Collection