An intimate moment with a rare pocket tourbillon made by ‘modern Thomas Edison’, Thomas Engel (copy)

The watch, with 1-minute flying tourbillon carrying a 0.2sec remontoir in its cage, was what Engel himself said ‘his last watch’ since ‘he could not improve further’ (until he changed his mind…)

Today we want ot take a closer look at two recent novelties Breguet introduced to celebrate their 250th anniversary, the Breguet Tradition Automatique Ref. 7035BH (left) and the Breguet Type XX Chronographe Flyback Ref. 2075 (right).

Both did not receive the attention that the first celebratory model, the Classique Ref. 2025, enjoyed, and even we at ‘the eclecticum’ were asking ourselves if Breguet maybe did not aim ambitiously enough.

In the following, we will feature both watches with lots if images and offer our impressions!

The Breguet Tradition Automatique 7035BH

On the first view this clearly identifies as a variant of the idiosyncratic Tradition line, but note that in the current collection there is no equivalent.

To make that point let’s have a first look at the specifications:

Key features of the Tradition Automatique 7035BH:

• Case: 38 x 12.6 mm, 18K Breguet gold, fluted case middle, lugs with screwed strap pins, water-resistant to 30m
• Dial: eccentric ‘basse-taille’ dial in 18k Breguet gold base is composed of a hand guilloché with ‘Quai de l’Horloge’ motif with transparent blue grand feu enamel layer, silver printed Breguet Arabic numerals, secret ‘Breguet’ engraving. Retrograde seconds display discretely positioned between 10 and 11 o’clock directly on the main plate
• Hands: golden Breguet ‘hollow Apple’ hour & minute hands, blued steel baton retrograde seconds hand
• Movement: Calibre 505 SR treated in gilded brass in the same shade as Breguet gold, numbered and signed Breguet, 14.6 lines, 245 components, 38 jewels, 19 blued steel screws, 5.7 mm thick. Automatic with central rotor in brushed 950 platinum. 3 Hz frequency (21,600 vibrations per hour). Patented NivachronTM balance-spring with Breguet overcoil. Single barrel. 50-hour power reserve. Finely shot blast finishing on main plate, bridges straight brushed.
• Strap: hand-patinised blue alligator leather strap and 18K Breguet gold pin buckle
• Dial, movement, case and presentation box carry the matching serial number
• limited edition of 250 pieces

Close up and in detail:

What first comes to mind from above data is the first automatic Tradition (Ref. 7037) from 2006 which also was housed in a 38mm case (compared to the 40mm of the current 7097). So the new Ref. 7035BH is a nod to the times when the first new ‘Tradition’ watches made collector’s hearts beat faster.

Further, the finishing and technical specification of the movement is different from the standard ones: the top surfaces of all cocks and bridges is finely brushed instead of blasted, which reflects the light differently and nicely accentuates then depending on light (some of our images show this). Then, the watch also has no silicon hairspring but instead, like the Classique 2025, a blued Nivachron™ one with Breguet terminal curve.

Finally, its coated in Breguet Gold, which sets itself nicely apart from the heat blued screws and the retrograde seconds hand:

If we look at the dial we notice a guilloché dial with a blue transparent enamel cover, called ‘basse-taille’ technique.

The patters looks very familiar to barley corn but if you look closer it is more curved – and is indeed a new pattern developed by Breguet (called ‘Quai de l’Horloge’ pattern) which is inspired by the shape of the river Seine in Paris around the Île de la Cité in the heart of Paris.

There’s also a secret signature on it which is so secret that wee discovered it only when working on these images…

On the backside, the Cal. 505 SR looks deceivingly familiar, save for the Breguet gold hue and brushed brigdes, but the rotor is for the first time made in platinum, and Breguet also gives you a hint:

So, after all it seems like this watch is deceivingly ‘standard’ for Breguet that one might forget to look closer and stop at appreciating this ‘obvious’.

The Breguet Type XX Chronographe Flyback 2075

This one is more easily appreciated: finally a hand wound version of Breguet’s 5Hz chronograph flyback, finally a smaller diameter, and finally (!!) no date!

Key features of the Type XX Chronographe Flyback 2075:

• Case: 38.3 x 13.2 mm, 18K Breguet gold, circular brushed bidirectional turning bezel with 12h markings, satin-finished case middle, lugs with polished tops, water-resistant to 50m
• Dial: anodised aluminum dial, arabic numerals, hour track and 15-minute counter at 3 o’clock in beige luminescent paint (green emission colour), applied solid 18kt Breguet gold inscription
• Hands: solid 18kt Breguet gold ‘syringe’ hour, minute and straight small seconds hands, gold plated chronograph seconds hand, solid 18kt Breguet gold chronograph minute hand, hour, minute and chrongoraph minute hands filled with beige luminescent paint (green emission colour)
• Movement: Calibre 7279 treated in gilded brass in the same shade as Breguet gold, numbered and signed Breguet, 14.5 lines, 258 components, 28 jewels, 6 mm thick. Hand-wound. 5 Hz frequency (36,000 vibrations per hour). Flat, silicon hairspring, inverted anchor with silicon horns. Single barrel. 60-hour power reserve.Hand engraving of the Breguet 19 aircraft, route and European and North American coasts on the back of the movement as a tribute to the first transatlantic flight from Paris to New York.
• Strap: interchangeable, gradient black calfskin leather strap and 18K Breguet gold pin buckle
• Dial, movement, case and Moroccan leather presentation box carry the matching serial number
• Not limited

With a diameter of exactly 38.3 mm Breguet wanted to reference the first Type XX from the 1950s, and they did splendidly in our view (albeit not entirely in a consistent way…). The smaller size compliments the watch very well, as does the omission of the date…

… yet there is one question: