804 articles · 55 videos found · page 15 of 29
Revolution
The story is well known: in 1812, Caroline Murat, the Queen of Naples and the sister of Emperor Napoleon I, received a watch made for her by Breguet in his Paris workshops. The watch was an unusual and historically important one in many respects –it was a small but quite complicated watch, in an oblong […]
Revolution
Breguet has introduced what is currently –as far as we have been able to determine –the world’s thinnest self-winding tourbillon. The Classique Tourbillon Extra Thin Automatic Ref. 5377 is overall only 7mm thick –and the movement, Breguet calibre 581DR, is a mere 3mm thin. In 1801, Abraham Breguet received a patent for an invention he’d […]
Deployant
Abraham Louis Breguet is the father of modern watchmaking…almost all the timekeeping innovations have been either invented, worked on, or perfected by this great man himself. Today, the Breguet company, under the mighty Swatch Group continues in this tradition. I am very partial to their dial design and execution, which to me is the bestRead More
Deployant
When Breguet announced the Double Tourbillon in , I was skeptical. Skeptical because it sounded more like a showoff watch than one which has true horological significance and beauty. But recently, I was reacquainted with the 5347, and came away quite impressed. Breguet Classique Double Tourbillon Ref. 5347 The watch features a double tourbillon, eachRead More
Deployant
Breguet’s 2010 novelties include a WG version of the La Tradition Tourbillon with fusee chain. As usual, clicking on the image will bring up a 1920 x 1080 screensaver. Detail of the fusee. Detail of the tourbillon Closeup of the movement
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Monochrome
The 2025 edition of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève has just unveiled the grand winner of this year’s awards ceremony, and the winner is a watch with a lot of sense. Often regarded as the Oscars of Watchmaking, the GPHG stands for a celebration of all things surrounding watchmaking. The jury has narrowed down […]
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SJX Watches
SJX and Brandon Moore kick off episode seven of the SJX Podcast with the relaunch of Urban Jürgensen (which includes a tribute to Derek Pratt’s Oval pocket watch), discussing why this time might be different. Also on the docket is a recap of the spring auction season, which included strong prices for hot names in independent watchmaking, though other “indies” waned, surprising showings from hitherto esoteric clocks and pocket watches, and some value buys with out-of-vogue timepieces. Lastly, we recap Breguet’s 250th anniversary launches so far, which have met with a mixed reception, but demonstrate signs of life for a historic brand. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Monochrome
If you’re a returning reader of MONOCHROME or have been watching our video reviews on YouTube, you probably know that we tend to remain fairly neutral. Why? Because we believe you are wise enough to make your own judgement… But today, I’ll be a little biased, to say the least. After all, all the team members are […]
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SJX Watches
While the invention of the spiral hairspring by Christiaan Huygens in 1675 kickstarted a revolution in terms of portable precision timekeeping, the concept was far from fully developed. It was arguably only with the later invention of the overcoil hairspring that the ideal oscillator in portable watches emerged. For many years horologists - theoreticians and artisans alike - worked to perfect the balance-hairspring assembly to optimise its performance, notably in terms of isochronism. True isochronism became a sort of holy grail for watchmakers all around the world, who all sought to ameliorate the inherent quirks of the sprung oscillator. The recent Breguet Soucription features an overcoil hairspring of non-magnetic Nivachron alloy The need for end curves The quest for isochronism was a true challenge for horologists. Isochronism is the ability of the balance-hairspring assembly the have the same period of oscillation for small and large amplitudes alike. In other words, the balance oscillation takes the same period of time regardless of the degree travelled. This is very important, since a balance usually swings with high amplitude with a fully wound mainspring and then runs at progressively smaller amplitude as the barrel unwinds. As a timepiece is required to keep good time regardless of its winding state, an oscillator whose period is independent from its amplitude is needed. (Another solution to this is to optimise the energy delivery from the mainspring with a...
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SJX Watches
Japanese retailer Shellman has given Raymond Weil’s vintage-inspired Millesime a gentle makeover with the Millesime Centre Seconds Shellman Limited Edition. While staying faithful to the original in overall style, the Shellman edition incorporates numerous subtle tweaks that reflect the detail-oriented approach of Japanese watch enthusiasts. The Shellman edition features a domed, “sector” dial with a two-tone “champagne gold” finish with a single Breguet numeral at 12 o’clock. But more notable is the case, which resembles the standard version on its face, but is actually thinner at just 9.25 mm, giving the watch a surprisingly slim profile. Initial thoughts In keeping with Shellman’s past limited editions, the new Millesime is vintage inspired and thoughtfully designed. Though it resembles the standard models in many ways, the Shellman edition is substantively different in several key respects, including with the two-tone, domed dial and thinner case. These refinements enhance the vintage flavour of the watch, and also give it better proportions. However, the typography for the brand name and “Automatic” is identical to that of the standard model. While the modern font doesn’t have the same vintage feel as the rest of the design, the print is in dark grey and less prominent. The Shellman edition is priced at JPY308,000 with taxes, or around US$1,950, which is about the same as the standard model. With its greater appeal and limited numbers, it is an ea...
Worn & Wound
Well folks, January is here, and that can really only mean one thing when it comes to new watch releases: we are about to be bombarded with Lunar New Year limited editions. They started to trickle out just before things began to shut down for the holidays, and by the time I dared to sign into my work email for the first time in 2025, press releases from brands of all kinds were waiting for me, heralding the launch of new watches to celebrate the Year of the Snake. This has been a tradition for as long as I’ve paid attention to watch media, and probably a whole lot longer. In some ways, I think we all have to admit, it’s quite cynical. It’s an easy way for brands to (hopefully) cash in as the growing Chinese luxury watch market looks for ways to mark a major point on their calendar. But the watches themselves, quite often, are really quite good, often living near the higher end of a brand’s catalog, serving as an example of particular craft techniques. That’s certainly the case with this year’s entry from Breguet, Breguet Classique 7145 Lunar New Year 2025, a watch that showcases the brand’s signature guilloche work, as well engraving and miniature painting techniques. The Classique 7145 Lunar New Year 2025 starts with a simple, 40mm rose gold case, with fluting along the case walls, another signature Breguet design characteristic. While 40mm is on the large side for a modern dress watch, it makes sense in a watch like this as a way to properly showcase the ...
Revolution
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