Teddy Baldassarre
Breguet Type XX Chronographe 2075
The Breguet Type XX, originally produced for France’s military pilots in the 1950s, is one of the most significant and influential watches with aviation ties, and represents the historical and, to many watch enthusiasts, largely unknown link between the Breguet family’s two areas of multigenerational savoir faire: watchmaking and aeronautical technology. The new Type XX Chronographe 2075, unveiled last week as part of Montres Breguet’s ongoing celebration of its 250th anniversary, stylishly pays tribute to this shared history in two distinctive iterations based on one of the very first civilian-marketed models. Origin of the Type XX A bit of history and background: Abraham-Louis Breguet, founder of the eponymous watchmaking maison, is known to many of us as one of the world’s most important watchmaking pioneers, whose many accomplishments include the invention of the tourbillon, keyless winding of watch movements, and the ubiquitous Breguet hands. Several generations of his family continued the horological tradition, but one great grandson, Louis-Charles Breguet, found another calling, in the burgeoning field of manned flight, founding Breguet Aviation in 1911. The company, today a part of Dassault Aviation, developed cutting-edge aircraft for the military units of Louis’ native France, including the famed Breguet 19 bomber used during World War I. Despite the ownership change in the watch business, both branches of the Breguet families kept close ties both to e...
