Breguet’s new showstopper has everything horology buffs look for in a timepiece.
Breguet’s new showstopper has everything horology buffs look for in a timepiece.
This ultra-thin, self-winding tourbillon watch blends a modern aesthetic with traditional know-how.
There are a few things that knowledgeable watch lovers most prize – technical and aesthetic mastery, certainly. But just as important is a sense of historical significance – what a watch represents in the continuum of our quest to measure time. If you’re a savvy watch collector, Breguet’s latest blockbuster, the Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Squelette 5395 – an ultra-thin tourbillon watch with a movement just 3mm thin – ticks all the boxes.
Building a tourbillon timepiece (which has a structure that typically requires a good amount of space) that fits into an ultra-thin case is a skill that not many manufactures possess. But such know-how is embedded in this brand’s history, which was founded by renowned watchmaker Louis Abraham-Breguet in 1775. It was Breguet himself who invented the tourbillon, an accuracy-improving mechanism still beloved by connoisseurs, in the early 19th century.
What is less known is that the watchmaker was also skilled at making ultra-thin timepieces. This is shown in the pocket watch No. 4691, a 7.7mm-thick half-quarter repeater model he sold in 1831. That timepiece has inspired the brand’s recent ultra-thin watches, powered by the calibre 581.
The same calibre drives the Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Squelette 5395. As if the 3mm-thin movement wasn’t fine enough, the brand has also removed half of the rose-gold movement through masterful skeletonisation. The airy construction gives this timepiece a modern, architectural quality that highlights its traditional, hand-executed finishing. These include the smooth, 45-degree bevels of the openworked movement’s many edges, and the hand-engraved hobnailed pattern on the remaining plate surface.
Housed in a platinum case 41mm wide and just 7.7mm thick, and accented with the brand’s signature fluted edges, the Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Squelette 5395 possesses all the features that the savviest collectors seek.
The Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Squelette 5395 in platinum with a rose-gold movement retails at $345,700. It is also available in a rose gold case.
