Breguet’s Year of the Dragon Watches Are Works of Art

Breguet is honoring the Year of the Dragon by introducing two new watches crafted with the highest standards by its in-house experts.

In order to counteract the impact of gravity on the regularity of watch movements, Abraham-Louis Breguet introduced the tourbillon on June 26, 1801. This invention has remained a constant source of fascination. The latest interpretation, unveiled in 2006, features a double tourbillon, where two tourbillons connected to a differential create a unique time display. The rotating central plate sets the two tourbillons in motion, driving the hours hand and forming bridges. The two tourbillons, although independent, synchronize through differential gears. The intricate mechanism comes to life with the 749-component Calibre 588N1, a hand-wound movement with a 60-hour power reserve and a 2.5 Hz frequency.

The sapphire crystal caseback allows a view of Breguet’s expertise, showcased through allegorical decoration combining guilloché and engraving. These centuries-old arts are preserved at the Manufacture Horlogère in the Vallée de Joux, where artisans use guilloché lathes and engraving techniques to create intricate motifs by hand.

The highlighted version features a dragon gracefully twirling between the two tourbillons. The hand-engraved gold dragon, holding a mother-of-pearl pearl in its talons, symbolizes wisdom and power. The rhodium-plated gold rotating plate is hand-guilloché with a fan motif, while the gold bridge below the mainplate undergoes anthracite galvanic treatment and guilloché-work with a Clous de Paris hobnail motif.

Luxury is found in the details, with laser-engraved Roman numerals and minutes track on the sapphire hour-circle coated with black varnish. The flange features 12 Roman numeral hour-markers, engraved and filled with black varnish, representing shadows on the chapter ring.

Breguet offers each client a unique timepiece, allowing personalization of the dragon’s shape and color, as well as the choice of Roman numeral color, hands, and strap from a range of Breguet designs. The tools and techniques used remain unchanged from centuries ago, except for binocular microscopes.

The Classique Dragon – 7145 – Eight-piece numbered limited edition showcases the full range of skills mastered by Breguet’s craftsmen.

The crimson red dial, with varying shades between the chapter ring and the center, is created using the rare Grand Feu enameling technique. This age-old skill requires great skill to handle a broad palette of colors and create subtle nuances. To achieve this texture, the artisan applies a mixture of silica and oxides to the watch face, firing the dial multiple times in a high-temperature kiln. This delicate process carries the risk of the dial breaking at any moment.

The dragon, standing proudly on the dial, is an entirely hand-engraved rose gold applique. The fantasy creature maintains a vigilant eye on its pearl, crafted from natural white mother-of-pearl. Roman numerals, minutes track, and clouds are in a golden powder-pink hue, with the chapter ring adorned by 12 discreet round gold hour-markers. The time is indicated by Breguet’s signature open-tipped hands.

Inside the 40 mm-diameter rose gold case, one of Breguet’s thinnest at just 2.40 mm thick, beats Calibre 502.3. This self-winding movement, comprising 162 components, provides a 45-hour power reserve. Equipped with a balance-spring and pallet-lever in silicon, this material offers resistance to corrosion and wear, insensitivity to magnetic fields, and enhanced precision. The gold oscillating weight, hand-guilloché with a circular barleycorn motif, can be admired through the sapphire crystal caseback.