Breguet’s Classique Collection: A Tribute to the Brand’s Origins and Abraham-Louis Breguet’s Vision

Breguet, the luxury watchmaker known for its intricate timepieces, has unveiled a new addition to its Classique collection in 2023. The Quantième Perpétuel 7327 pays tribute to Abraham-Louis Breguet’s success in the 1780s with his perpétuelle watches, which featured an oscillating weight that would automatically wind the mechanism as the wearer walked.

The Quantième Perpétuel 7327 is a complex yet user-friendly timepiece that displays the exact date, taking into account the variable length of months and the leap-year cycle. To achieve this feat, the watch’s movement must have a four-year mechanical “memory” corresponding to 1,461 days. The mechanism is based on a gearing system from the hour’s wheel and a large central lever that drives the entire movement on a daily basis.

In total, the watch requires 294 components to bring it to life, but Breguet’s objective was to offer a light and comfortable timepiece. As such, the watchmaker opted for the Calibre 502 with an additional calendar mechanism, which is just 4.5mm thick and remains one of Breguet’s thinnest movements.

The self-winding movement is rhodium-plated, beats at a frequency of 3 Hertz, and has a 45-hour power reserve. It is equipped with a flat silicon balance-spring and an inverted straight-line escapement with silicon horns, which improves the watch’s precision and is resistant to corrosion and wear.

The Quantième Perpétuel 7327 is available in two gold colors and features guilloché silvered dials, similar to the ones that Breguet experimented with in the 1780s. The watch is a testament to the brand’s commitment to both innovation and tradition, reflecting the essence of the Breguet brand as a whole.

The movement of the new Quantième Perpétuel 7327 by Breguet showcases the brand’s dedication to decorative skills, which can be observed through the sapphire case back. The oscillating weight is made of gold and engraved by hand with a circular barleycorn motif using a rose engine, while the bridges are adorned with Côtes de Genève. The rest of the components are also finished with chamfered edges and Côtes de Genève. This precise craftsmanship is executed by the artisans in the Breguet Manufacture located in the Vallée de Joux.

The new creation by Breguet has a timeless aesthetic, recalling the brand’s distinctive features in a contemporary spirit. The dial features a Clous de Paris hobnail pattern and a moon phase located between 1 and 2 o’clock, designed to provide a strong sense of realism with its hand-hammered surface. The blue lacquer coating on its sky is composed of spangles that subtly reveal the stars depending on how the timepiece is turned. The day, date, and year indicators are harmoniously entwined at the base of the dial, while a quarter-circle between 10 and 11 o’clock indicates the months via a retrograde hand. The hours and minutes are indicated by the traditional eccentric “moon” tip watch hands in blued steel. The secret Breguet signature, created by the founder in 1795, appears between 11 and 12 o’clock as well as between 12 and 1 o’clock.

Adjustments of the various dial indications are completed from several positions on the 39 mm case. The day at 4 o’clock, the different moon phases between 4 and 5 o’clock, the date at 6 o’clock, and finally the month and the year at 9 o’clock can all be adjusted with a corrector stylus. The time is set via the crown located at 3 o’clock.

The Classique collection is not only functional but also emblematic, showcasing the brand’s aesthetic codes rooted in its origins. Abraham-Louis Breguet was not just a skilled watchmaker and inventor, but also a pioneer designer, introducing neoclassical style to watchmaking at a time when baroque style was in fashion. His aesthetic vision gave dials an avant-garde look, while also making it easier to read the indications. He introduced design elements like the eccentric “moon” tip watch hands, guilloché patterns, and off-center dials, which became part of the brand’s DNA. The 5327 Quantième Perpétuel, inspired by these creations, joined the collection in 2004, and the 2023 version embodies the contemporary spirit while remaining true to the Classique line’s powerful signatures.

The new timepiece is available in 18K white or rose gold, and each version is paired with a distinct strap color, midnight blue for white gold and mysterious brown for rose gold.