Teddy Baldassarre
Price of Admission: What Are The Least Expensive Breguet Watches?
For those in the know, Breguet is a name in the history of watchmaking that commands instant respect, and even reverence. The brand’s legendary founder, Abraham-Louis Breguet, is rightfully lauded as the inventor of the tourbillon, but his lifetime horological resumé goes far beyond even that: he made the first self-winding movement, the first watch that was wound by a crown rather than a key, the pare-chute shock protection system, and the gong system for repeater watches, among other innovations. His customers included historical figures like King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie-Antoinette, and Napoleon Bonaparte. He even invented a style of hands that many other watchmakers other than Breguet still use today. The modern brand that bears his name is one of the undisputed, upper-echelon Swiss watch maisons, alongside names like Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet, and the jewel in the crown of the Swatch Group. All that said and acknowledged, a newcomer to Breguet, especially the prospective owner of his or her first Breguet watch, may find all of this background intimidating. And make no mistake, Breguet is unapologetic in both its embrace of historical renown and its timepieces’ exalted level of luxury. The brand’s modern-day stewards harbor no illusion that they offer anything that would be any aficionado’s “first watch.” The whole concept of “entry level” must be stretched a bit at this venerated tier of watchmaking: like Patek Philippe, A. Lan...
