About 220 years ago, Abraham-Louis Breguet received the patent for his invention of the tourbillon. To mark the occasion, the Manufacture presents the Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Anniversaire 5365, a watch that focuses on this achievement and pays homage to the brand’s history with elaborate decorations. In keeping with the total of only 35 tourbillon watches that Abraham-Louis Breguet produced, this anniversary model also appears in an edition of 35 pieces.
The watch has a 41 mm case in rose gold. At the same time, it is extremely flat with a height of 7.08 mm. It is composed of a polished bezel, a finely fluted centre section typical of Breguet, and a polished case back with an exhibition window. In addition, there are welded-on lugs with screwed-in bars. The back also features the limitation number, which ranges from 1/35 to 35/35. Last but not least, the watch withstands only splashing water considering the water resistance of 3 bar or 30 metres.
The dial is made of 18-carat silver-plated gold. Two motifs are guilloched into the blank by hand. In the centre is the “Clou de Paris” pattern, which gives the impression of a matt coating. This is to make it easier to read the two “Pomme” hands made of blued stainless steel. For this purpose, there is also an off-centre hour circle with Roman numerals around the hands. Meanwhile, Breguet decorates the periphery with the “grain d’orge” motif. Finally, the tourbillon additionally serves as a small seconds. It is attached to a bridge of blued stainless steel, which is an unusual execution in the Classique collection. Another special feature is the inscription “Brevet N°157” above the tourbillon, which refers to Breguet’s patent number for the invention.
Inside the watch, the calibre 581 sets the hands in motion. It has automatic winding via a peripheral platinum oscillating weight. A barrel then stores the energy up to a maximum power autonomy of 80 hours. The tourbillon operates at a high frequency of 4 hertz. Breguet uses silicon for the escapement and the hairspring, which provides protection against magnetism.
The manufacture decorates the movement of the Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Anniversaire 5365 with a faithful reproduction of the watercolour plate that Breguet submitted with his patent application for the tourbillon. The note “Brevet N°157 Du 7 Messidor An IX” on the bridge of the tourbillon also matches this. It refers to the patent number and the corresponding date according to the calendar in effect within France at the time. The barrel also bears the engraving “Anniversaire 1801 – 2021”.
The watch comes on a brown leather strap that terminates in a rose gold folding clasp. As a special limited edition model, it is released in a run of 35 pieces. The price of the Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Anniversaire 5365 is 156,200 euros.
