Up Close: Breguet Marine 5517 in Titanium
Breguet today is highly regarded for its watches that classically designed but often powered by innovative, high-tech movements, like the Classique Chronométrie 7727 with magnetic balance pivots, or the recent, elaborately finished skeleton tourbillon 5395. The brand is not, however, known for its luxury-sports watches (its line of Type XX aviator’s chronographs are entry-level and not quite sports watches). But last year Breguet unveiled the latest – and best – version of its luxury-sports watch, the Marine 5517. An under-appreciated contender in the category, the new Marine more conservative in style than its competition, but built to an admirably high standard. The Marine 5517 in titanium with a matching bracelet Horloger de la Marine Unlike its competitors, Breguet was relatively late to the luxury-sports watch segment (though not as late as A. Lange & Söhne, which launched the Odysseus last year); the original Marine only made its debut in 1990. The model name was inspired by Breguet’s appointment in 1815 as Horloger de la Marine – clockmaker to the French navy, an appointment it held for over 150 years. Designed by Jorg Hysek, perhaps the most famous watch designers of the 1990s, the first-generation Marine was distinguished by its fluted, domed crown, but otherwise looked pretty much like any other Breguet. That was replaced in 2005 by the second generation, a major redesign that gave it a more distinctive style. The practical robustness of the Marine...
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