Breguet

THE BREGUET TRADITION 7027: 230 YEARS OF HISTORY IN A REVOLUTIONARY TIMEPIECE

Breguet is introducing a new line of watches this year called “Breguet Tradition”. An invitation to a journey through time and beyond, it constitutes a spirited salute to the memory of A.-L. Breguet. This model thus embodies both a return to Breguet’s origins and a vision of its future.

The pare-chute, one of Breguet’s premier inventions
Inspired by his legendary Souscription watches, Breguet Tradition timepieces highlight one of A.-L. Breguet’s most important inventions, the “pare-chute” suspension, which he developed in 1790 to protect the balance staff against shocks.

Because of their slenderness, the balance pivots are most vulnerable to damage should a watch be dropped or struck. From 1790 on, Breguet shortened them, giving them a conical shape the better to hold them in place by an appropriately concave jewel mounted on a blade spring. So rather than breaking in response to a shock, the pivot would merely be dislodged before resuming its original position guided by the sides of the concave jewel. The forerunner of all modern shock-protection devices, the pare-chute, also called elastic balance suspension, is one of Breguet’s most pivotal inventions.

On a Breguet Tradition design, the pare-chute is immediately visible thanks to an astute play of colors. Combining the advantages of contemporary shock dampeners and those of a torsion-blade spring such as used by A.-L. Breguet himself in the 18th century, the Breguet Tradition’s new shock-protection device is the subject of a recent patent application.

New line, new style, new movement
The Breguet Tradition line features a brand-new movement, entirely designed, developed and built in Manufacture Breguet’s workshops – a three-year project that fulfilled the challenging goal of wedding inspiration from the past to the spirit of the future.

A dial and a caseback in transparent sapphire bring to light the movement's beauty and its genial design. Revolutionary in construction, its bridges, bars, gears and other features are for the first time distributed on both sides of the mainplate.

Fusing avant-garde design and tradition, this remarkable timepiece’s understated, thoroughly contemporary elegance stems from its muted, shot-blasted finish – a sophisticated decorative technique that avoids the use of mercury but whose uniform application demands a rare degree of experience and skill.

Emphasized by its symmetrical bars, the traditional design’s subtle visual balance recalls Breguet’s Souscription watches. Memorable in appearance, pioneering in construction, this novel creation’s trimly elegant lines never blur Breguet’s identity or stray from its roots.

New models representing the entire range of complex designs and Grandes Complications wi ll soon be joining the Breguet Tradition line.

SHOWN: BREGUET TRADITION watch
REF. 7027BA/11/9V6

Case: round in 18K yellow gold with fluted caseband. Sapphire caseback. Welded, round-ended horns, screw-secured lugs. Water-resistant to 30 meters.

Dial: in 18K silvered gold, off-centered at 12 o’clock, engraved by hand on a rose engine. Individually numbered and signed Breguet. Hour chapter with Roman numerals. Hollow-tip Breguet hands in blued steel.

Movement: handwound mechanical movement. Power-reserve indication engraved on the front and back of the
movement, numbered and signed Breguet. Cal. 507DR. 14 1/2 lines, 34 jewels, 3 Hz frequency. Straight-line lever escapement. Breguet overcoil. Adjusted in 5 positions.

For more information, visit: www.breguet.com