We had the rare opportunity to bring together all the new timepieces presented so far in celebration of Breguet’s 250th anniversary, to photograph them in one place and to examine in this article their horological significance, technical characteristics, and historical references in detail.
As of 1 October 2024, Gregory Kissling – formerly Head of Product Development at Omega – has taken over as CEO of the storied watchmaking house Breguet, whose origins date back to 1775. Over the course of its long history, the manufacture has registered more than 200 patents and left an indelible mark on the world of mechanical watchmaking. Its milestones include the first self-winding watch (1780), the invention of the tourbillon (1801), and the creation of the first wristwatch (1810) – achievements that few brands can rival. Expectations for Kissling are correspondingly high: in his new role, he faces the challenge of unlocking untapped potential and translating Breguet’s horological heritage – including six distinct tourbillon constructions and a wide range of guilloché patterns – into contemporary timepieces capable of reigniting the passion of collectors. To mark the 250th anniversary, Breguet has introduced several commemorative pieces that already offer early insight into Kissling’s direction for the maison. This article takes a closer look at the Breguet anniversary watches 2025 introduced in the first half of the year.
To celebrate its 250th anniversary, Breguet has unveiled commemorative models that each correspond to one of the maison’s six core collections – Reine de Naples, Marine, Type XX, Classique, Tradition, and Héritage. This approach reflects the fact that Breguet is not defined by a single timepiece or collection alone. Each anniversary piece follows a deliberate formula that extends not only to its construction, but also to its aesthetic and choice of materials. On the one hand, each piece tells a different chapter of Breguet’s history through its technical architecture, often referencing key inventions from among the brand’s 200+ patent filings. On the other hand, most of the models are unified by the newly developed “Breguet Gold” alloy and a distinctive decorative pattern known as the “Quai de l’Horloge” motif – applied to dials, casebacks or oscillating weights.
“Breguet Gold” is a newly created gold alloy, whose warm, subtly rosy hue is inspired by the type of gold used by watchmakers such as Breguet in the 18th century. To achieve this tone, the alloy consists of 75% gold, enriched with silver, copper, and palladium. Beyond its unique colour, the material is notable for its resistance to tarnishing and its long-term durability.
Another unifying design element across the Breguet anniversary watches 2025 is the “Quai de l’Horloge” pattern, created specifically for this occasion. This new guilloché motif is inspired by the Turgot map – a highly detailed bird’s-eye view of Paris drawn in the 18th century. In the original engraving, the city’s buildings, streets, squares, gardens and parks are rendered in meticulous detail. More precisely, the guilloché pattern draws inspiration from the flowing lines of the Seine depicted on the map – lines that encircle the Île de la Cité, where Abraham-Louis Breguet’s original workshop was once located, as well as the neighbouring Île Saint-Louis.
The first model to mark Breguet’s anniversary watches 2025 was the Classique Souscription 2025 – a watch that made a notably understated debut, especially given its role in inaugurating the maison’s 250th anniversary celebrations. Rather than showcasing major complications or the tourbillon – an invention historically synonymous with Breguet and originally devised to counteract gravity-induced positional errors in pocket watches – the brand opted for elegant simplicity. This deliberate restraint recalls the aesthetic of a historical predecessor dating back to the period following the French Revolution, around 1796.
The Classique Souscription 2025 draws direct inspiration from the original “Montre de Souscription” (subscription watch), which Breguet began selling from 1796 onwards, as he set about rebuilding his business after the upheaval of the Revolution. In order to better manage financial risk, Breguet introduced an innovative sales model: customers paid one quarter of the watch’s value in advance, allowing him to restart production and cover costs upfront – in effect creating an early version of the modern pre-order system. This initial payment enabled Breguet to finance wages, materials and other operating expenses even before delivering the finished piece. In support of this model, he published the first widely known printed watch brochure in the industry from 1797 onwards. Aesthetically, the original Montre de Souscription was defined by its white enamel dial with Breguet numerals, a single blued steel Breguet hand, and a movement distinguished by features that have now been faithfully transposed into the Classique Souscription 2025.
True to this heritage, the Classique Souscription 2025 features a grand feu enamel dial with Breguet numerals – in keeping with the maison’s tradition of reserving these numerals exclusively for fired enamel dials – along with a flame-blued Breguet hand with open-tipped design. Notably, the dial also includes a hidden signature and the word “Souscription”, both of which are only visible under specific lighting conditions. The secret signature, alongside Breguet numerals and hands, is one of the house’s defining hallmarks, traditionally applied to guilloché or enamel dials. For this anniversary piece, however, Breguet revived an historic engraving method: using a pantograph, as Abraham-Louis Breguet himself once did. Originally developed as a means to prevent counterfeiting, this technique is still performed in-house using original tools. In choosing to apply it once more for the Classique Souscription 2025, Breguet returns to the very methods it employed as early as 1796.
Turning the watch over reveals just how faithfully Breguet has miniaturised the original Montre de Souscription pocket watch into wristwatch format. The movement – Calibre VS00 – follows the same design language as its historical predecessor. It is equipped with a single barrel that delivers a power reserve of four days (96 hours) and beats at a frequency of 3 Hz (21,600 vibrations per hour). The blued hairspring features a classic Breguet overcoil and is crafted from Nivachron – an anti-magnetic alloy primarily composed of titanium, which improves resistance to temperature fluctuations, magnetic fields and shocks. The caseback reveals a range of carefully considered aesthetic choices. In addition to finely sandblasted bridges and plates, the ratchet wheel is engraved with a portion of the original subscription instructions – precisely as Abraham-Louis Breguet once printed them in his catalogue. Surrounding the movement, the case rim bears the hand-engraved “Quai de l’Horloge” guilloché motif, offering further historical continuity.
While the dial, hand and movement are inspired by historical models, the case in Breguet Gold introduces a more contemporary touch. In place of the fluted caseband that is typical of the Classique collection, this anniversary piece features a satin-brushed mid-case. The traditionally straight lugs have also been replaced by curved ones. Breguet chose a relatively modern case diameter of 40 mm – a notable departure for a watch of such classical appearance. The reason, however, is straightforward: legibility. A smaller diameter such as 36 mm would, according to the brand, make it harder to read the time using a single hand.
In a final nod to the original subscription concept, Breguet also adopted a historical sales model for this anniversary edition. Buyers of the Classique Souscription 2025 are required to pay 25% of the €52,300 retail price at the time of ordering. The watch is then produced within one to three months and delivered upon final payment.
With the second model of the Breguet anniversary watches 2025, Breguet once again draws deeply from the maison’s own heritage. For this release, the brand selected the Tradition collection – launched in 2005 and itself inspired by the so-called tact watches that Breguet began producing from 1799 onwards. These unusual timepieces earned their name from the fact that Breguet equipped them with mechanisms allowing the wearer to feel the time by touch. This was achieved by positioning the hour hand on the outside of the case. Together with raised hour markers mounted around the case – often made from pearls or diamonds – the time could be determined by fingertip alone. One notable example of such a montre à tact is the medallion-style Tact watch no. 611, which was sold on 18 February 1800 to Madame Bonaparte and later passed on to Empress Joséphine.
Yet these timepieces – occasionally referred to as watches for the blind – held a further secret: upon opening them, the wearer would find the movement components arranged around a dial set directly onto the mainplate. This architectural configuration has become the defining aesthetic of the modern-day Tradition collection. Unlike the Classique line, which typically features closed dials, the Tradition watches offer an openworked dial-side view of the movement, providing a radically different perspective on mechanical timekeeping.
The centrepiece of the Tradition Seconde Rétrograde anniversary edition is a finely guilloché dial that showcases the Quai de l’Horloge motif in a vivid Breguet blue – a pattern inspired by the flowing lines of the Seine. Guilloché holds particular significance for the maison, as Abraham-Louis Breguet was among the first watchmakers to apply the technique systematically to dials, beginning around 1786. By engraving regular patterns, he was able to clearly delineate functional areas and reduce unwanted reflections on the dial surface. At the same time, the process gave Breguet’s watches their signature look . Guilloché remains one of the defining design elements of the brand, which also houses the world’s largest collection of historical and still-operational rose engines.
In addition to the small dial, both the blued steel screws and the retrograde seconds hand on the left-hand side echo the same vivid blue hue. Notably, this anniversary edition marks the first time in the Tradition collection that the bridges have been given a soft, hand-applied satin finish on their upper surfaces.
Turning to the caseback, the Tradition Seconde Rétrograde reveals a platinum oscillating weight with a vertically brushed finish, which moves over satin-brushed bridges and a bead-blasted mainplate. This construction pays homage to Breguet’s earliest self-winding watches – known as perpétuelles – which earned him considerable fame at the French court from 1780 onwards. Even then, Breguet incorporated both platinum and guilloché as integral elements of his watchmaking. He also devised a rotor that could wind the movement purely through the natural motion of the wearer’s wrist – without requiring manual shaking. The crescent-shaped rotor seen here refers directly to those pioneering developments in automatic winding, while also contributing to the watch’s distinctive appearance. The rotor winds Calibre 505SR, which comprises 245 components and features a barrel positioned dial-side. It is fitted with a Breguet overcoil made from Nivachron and delivers a power reserve of 50 hours at a frequency of 3 Hz (21,600 vibrations per hour).
The movement is housed in a 38 mm case made from Breguet Gold, with a fluted mid-case and a thickness of 12.6 mm. The second model of the Breguet anniversary watches 2025 is limited to 250 pieces in honour of the anniversary and is priced at approximately €50,400.
Amidst all the watchmaking innovation, it is easy to forget that Breguet is a brand whose heritage is rooted not only in horology but also in aviation. Following in the footsteps of Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), his descendant Louis Breguet (1880–1955) expanded the family’s legacy into aeronautics. Drawing on his engineering studies, Louis founded his own aviation company and went on to design a wide range of aircraft over more than five decades. Among them was the Breguet 19 – a twin-wing long-range bomber produced in large numbers from 1924 onwards. This model broke several records for speed, altitude and endurance, including the first non-stop flight from Paris to New York, completed by Dieudonné Costes and Maurice Bellonte in 37 hours and 18 minutes.
These and other milestones in aviation history laid the foundation for a timepiece collection that would honour such achievements: the Breguet Type XX. Launched in the early 1950s, the Type XX was designed to be worn by pilots of the French Air Force, who had issued a request for a wrist-worn chronograph. The resulting pilot’s chronograph featured technical specifications such as a flyback function, and was delivered to military clients under the name Type 20, while civilian customers and naval aviators received models under the Type XX designation. Though production ceased in the 1970s, Breguet revived the line in 1995 under the name Type XX Aéronavale – bringing it back to market once more.
Since its inception, the collection has remained closely tied to the theme of aviation. Breguet continues this legacy with Reference 2075, offered in two anniversary editions: one featuring a black anodised aluminium dial, and the other – limited to 250 pieces – fitted with a solid silver dial. Measuring 38.3 mm in diameter and 13.2 mm in height, both models draw direct inspiration from a historic Type XX model dating to 1955: reference no. 1780, which already featured an unusually luxurious gold case for a pilot’s watch and displayed similar proportions. Its dial was originally silver before later being replaced with a black version.
All three historical elements are reflected in the two Breguet anniversary watches 2025. Reference 2075BH/99/398 marks the first time in Breguet’s history that a Type XX has featured a dial made from black anodised aluminium. The so-called “Eloxal” technology results in a deep black, highly resistant surface, while a small “Al” inscription between 7 and 8 o’clock refers to the material used. Beige-coloured Arabic numerals, minute track and hands coated in green-glowing Super-LumiNova ensure excellent readability both day and night. The layout draws inspiration from early Type XX models, with a 15-minute counter at 3 o’clock and a small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock.
The limited edition Ref. 2075BH/G9/398, on the other hand, features a vertically brushed solid silver dial made from 925 sterling silver – a nod to historical gold-cased Type XX models with silver dials. This version includes a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock and a tachymeter scale. The discreet “Ag925” hallmark between 7 and 8 o’clock identifies the precious metal. Applied numerals at 12 and 6 o’clock, together with Breguet Gold indices and blued hands, enhance the watch’s classic character. Both models omit the date display – a deliberate return to the aesthetic purity of the original Type XX designs.
Powering the Type XX 2075 Breguet anniversary watches 2025 are hand-wound versions of the Calibre 728, first introduced in 2023. The aluminium-dial variant houses Calibre 7279, while the silver-dial model is fitted with Calibre 7278. Both movements operate at a frequency of 5 Hz (36,000 vibrations per hour) and offer a 60-hour power reserve. Silicon components, including the balance spring and pallet horns, ensure magnetic resistance, durability, and reliable timekeeping. The integrated flyback function allows the chronograph to be reset and restarted instantly – a practical feature rooted in the functionality of historical pilot’s watches. The movements are traditionally finished, and the caseback of the limited silver edition is engraved with a depiction of the Breguet 19 in flight along its transatlantic route from 1930 – complete with coastlines of Europe and North America – alongside the individual limited edition number.
The Type XX Chronographe 2075 with black dial is priced at €42,400, while the silver-dial variant, limited to 250 pieces, retails for €44,200.
Few inventions are as emblematic of Breguet as the tourbillon. Patented by Abraham-Louis Breguet on 26 June 1801, the device was designed to counteract rate deviations in pocket watches caused by gravitational and positional effects. It does so by placing the entire regulating and escapement system – including the balance wheel and hairspring – within a cage that rotates around its own axis. The tourbillon not only became one of the most prestigious horological complications but is today regarded by many collectors as the ultimate symbol of mechanical sophistication.
The fourth model of the Breguet anniversary watches 2025, housed once again within the Classique collection, does not in fact use Breguet’s original construction. Instead, for the first time in the brand’s history, it features a flying tourbillon. This technical evolution of the traditional tourbillon was developed in 1920 by German master watchmaker Alfred Helwig at the watchmaking school in Glashütte. The defining feature of the flying tourbillon is that the rotating cage – which, like the classic version, carries the entire regulating and escapement mechanism – is supported only from below. With no upper bridge, the tourbillon appears to “fly” within the case, unobstructed by structural supports.
There is another layer of significance in Breguet’s choice for this special edition of the Breguet anniversary watches 2025: the flying tourbillon here is based on the very same construction used in Breguet’s first-ever tourbillon wristwatch, released in 1990 under reference 3350. As such, the hand-wound calibre 187M1 inside the Classique Tourbillon Sidéral comprises 183 components, delivers a 50-hour power reserve, and beats at a frequency of 2.5 Hz (18,000 vibrations per hour).
But Breguet has added another concept to this flying construction for the anniversary edition – one that further enhances the illusion of levitation: the principle of the “mystery” watch. This technique, which enjoys a long-standing tradition at Cartier, now makes its return to a Breguet timepiece for the first time in nearly two decades. Its origins trace back to the 1880s in Le Locle, where the first examples of such constructions appeared and were later reinterpreted by Breguet in its own mystery-style watches.
To apply this principle to the tourbillon, Breguet replaced the typically ornate lower bearing structure with anti-reflective sapphire crystal. In parallel, the contact point between the gear train and the tourbillon cage was repositioned outside the visible aperture, concealed beneath the dial – thereby intensifying the floating effect even further.
To give the model of the Breguet anniversary watches 2025 its visual identity, Breguet chose a dial made from aventurine enamel. According to the maison, the origin of aventurine enamel dates back to 17th-century Murano (Venice), where a glassmaker is said to have accidentally introduced copper shavings into molten glass – producing a unique metallic sparkle. To produce aventurine enamel dials today, Breguet first grinds aventurine glass into a fine powder, which is then fused onto a gold base using the traditional grand feu technique. This involves heating the enamel in multiple layers at temperatures exceeding 800°C, with at least five firing cycles required. The process is highly delicate: even minor overheating or prolonged firing can cause irreparable damage to the enamel.
The dial of this anniversary edition comprises several distinct elements: an enamelled gold base embedded with aventurine glass, a blue PVD-treated gold tourbillon bezel, an hour ring, and applied gilded inscriptions for “Breguet” and “Tourbillon”.
When viewed in profile, it becomes immediately apparent that Breguet has placed the tourbillon at the centre of attention. It rises 2.2 mm above the mainplate, 0.9 mm above the aventurine enamel dial, and 0.25 mm above the minute hand – bringing the total height of the ensemble to 7 mm. It is housed within a case made of Breguet Gold, measuring 10.2 mm in height and a well-proportioned 38 mm in diameter. Unlike the first anniversary edition – the Classique Souscription 2025 – the case features a stamped, fluted mid-section and straight lugs, in keeping with the aesthetic codes of the Classique collection.
The Classique Tourbillon Sidéral, Ref. 7255BH/2Y/9VU, is the most exclusive of all the Breguet anniversary watches 2025, strictly limited to just 50 individually numbered pieces (01/50 to 50/50), and it sets a benchmark in terms of pricing as well – retailing at €220,700.
