Breguet has spent more than two centuries refining the tourbillon, the complication made famous by its founder Abraham-Louis Breguet, and most can surely agree that
the many, many tourbillon watches it has released in its history have been beautiful and well-made. With such a pedigree, it stands to reason that Breguet’s tourbillons tend to look highly traditional, tending towards designs that correspond to technical seriousness.
That is what makes Breguet’s two new tourbillon watches for women such delightful surprises. While aesthetic poetry often finds its place within the Reine de Naples collection, the Classique collection now hosts two reimagined Classique Ref. 3358 models that sparkle with playfulness and personality; these are quite different to the existing Ref. 3358…
The white gold “Starlit Night”, reminiscent of a serene night sky, features a varnished blue mother-of-pearl dial, with the hours and minutes placed in an off-centered subdial with rhodium-plated gold hands. Within this dial are five applied white gold stars, and a serial number occupying the 4 o’clock position. More stars adorn the rest of the watch face, with six of the larger ones set with a brilliant-cut diamond. But the real star of the watch is the one-minute tourbillon, proudly displayed through an aperture at the bottom of the dial and held in place by a shooting star-shaped bridge that has been snow-set with 45 diamonds, as well as a central blue spinel as its pivoting stone.
The Ref. 3358BB/VD/986D0 measures a comfortable 35mm by 9.43mm, with additional brilliant-cut diamonds decorating the bezel, lugs, and clasp, and a rose-cut diamond topping the crown.
Its rose gold counterpart is the Ref. 3358BR/8D/986D0 “Stunning Sight”, and it lives up to its name with 281 diamonds blanketing the dial. Snow-set diamonds fill the area inside the natural white mother-of-pearl chapter ring, while rows of graduated diamonds appear to radiate from the tourbillon on either side. The tourbillon bridge is a curved band of rose gold set with 14 diamonds and a ruby pivot.
Turning over either reference will reveal a sapphire caseback offering a view of the manual-winding 187 D movement that beats at 2.5Hz and offers a 50-hour power reserve. The hand-hammered base plate is engraved with the brand name, movement number, and “Brevet 7 Messidor An IX” — the year the tourbillon was patented according to the French Republican Calendar.
The “Starlit Night” gets a midnight blue alligator strap, while the “Stunning Sight” comes with a red one, both fastened by triple-folding gold clasps set with 42 diamonds. Water-resistant to 30m, the pair will be part of Breguet’s permanent collection, adding some contemporary dazzle to its stately lineup.
Movement: Manual calibre 187 D with tourbillon; 50-hour power reserve
Case: 35mm in white gold and pink gold; water-resistant to 30m
Strap: Blue and red alligator
Price: From USD 207,900
This article first appeared on WOW’s Festive 2024 issue.
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