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Breguet Watches – Are you worthy enough?

Breguet Watch

Breguet has the historical honour of being Marie Antoinette’s favourite brand. Founded in Paris in 1775 by Neuchâtel-born Abraham Louis Breguet, the brand has had the privilege of providing watches for the elites in the military, scientific, diplomatic and financial world and the crème de la crème who preferred Breguet’s time pieces. Owning a Breguet watch is an epitome of luxury, time precision and the distinction of being one of the “elite”.
As one of the oldest watch making company, Breguet was the innovator of many “firsts” in the world of horology. His first self-winding watch was the “perpetuelles” in 1780. In 1783, its signature open-tipped hands called the Breguet’s hands and the Breguet’s Arabic numeral came out. Before the turn of the 19th century, Breguet had invented the gong spring for the minute repeater, guilloche dials, ratchet key, an anti-shock device, the development of the perpetual calendar, musical chronometer, and the tact watch. Breguet’s greatest contribution in the watch-making industry is the tourbillion regulator in 1801. The first wristwatch was commissioned by the Queen of Naples, Carol Murat, in 1812. Before the half of the 19th century, the forerunners of the chronograph and the marine chronometer were already in the assembly line.

What makes Breguet’s creation more sought after was the fact that the time pieces made by A.L. Breguet were of superior craftsmanship and quality. Add the fact that its endorsers are no less than King Louie XVI, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Queen Victoria. George Washington, Tsar Alexander I and more. The brand of watch was also owned by fictional characters such as Phileas Fogg of Around the World in Eighty Days and Dr. Lorrain of War and Peace.

Each Breguet watch can be easily identified by the coin-edge cases called case band fluting, its guilloche dial featuring the iconic hollow eccentric moon hands and its blue signature Breguet hands. There is probably more imitation Breguets than originals. However, an original and authentic Breguet watch has a secret signature that only a true Breguet watch possesses.

To date, Breguet is now part of the Swatch Group of Companies. It has retained its truthfulness to the mission and vision of A.L. Breguet. Current collections are the: Traditions; Classique; Classique Complications; Marine; Heritage; Type XX and XXI; Reine de Naples (exclusive to women) and high jewellery watches.

Tradition collection is merger of the Breguet’s Souscription watch and modern technology. The look is avant-garde, technology is state-of-the-art but the general look and “feel” of the collection is reminiscent of the first creations of A.L. Breguet.

Classique collection features the simple yet elegant style of Breguet’s original watches. Classique Complications watches include four functions that have been perfected by the genius of the man himself: tourbillion; hand-wound movement that has been engraved manually; perpetual calendar that includes day-date, month and leap years; and small seconds on the tourbillion shaft itself and minute repeaters.

Marine collection passes the standards of the French navy chronometer. Water resistance is from 30 meter to 100 meters.
The Heritage collection does not have the signature round coin-edge casing but the curved tonneau case. Still, the collection looks like a Breguet.

The Type XX and Type XXI are patterned after the French Naval-Air military’s sturdy chronographs of the bygone World War II-era pilot’s watch.

An exclusive women’s line is the Reine de Naples, based on the first women’s wristwatch ordered by Caroline of Murat. Feminine and beautiful, the collection holds true the high quality and elegance of Breguet time pieces. A more bejewelled version is the collection of high jewellery watches. Each design from this collection is of 18 karat gold (white or red) and paved with diamonds in. Water resistance is up to 15 meters. But then, who would want to wet such a fine piece of a wristwatch?

Check out our range of Breguet Watches

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 4th, 2010 at 11:21 am and is filed under Bregeut, Watch Info and tagged with breguet, Classique, Classique Complications, George Washington, Heritage, King Louie XVI, Marine, Napoleon Bonaparte, Queen Victoria, Reine de Naples, Traditions, Tsar Alexander I, Type XX and XXI. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.