The Breguet Classique Souscription 2025 for the Brand’s 250th Anniversary

This 12 months, probably the most vital names within the watch business is celebrating its 250th anniversary. I’m after all speaking about Breguet, the model created by the all-important Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1775, Quai de l’Horloge in Paris (despite the fact that he was Swiss, A.L. Breguet labored most of his life in Paris besides through the French Revolution). Breguet was an inventor – the tourbillon, the pare-chute, presumably the primary wristwatch, the gong-spring – and a pioneer of the idea of branding in watchmaking. So, with the 250th anniversary of the model’s inception, we have been anticipating one thing large. And whereas it will certainly come later, the primary commemorative watch is impressed by one thing much less grandiose, the easy however significantly vital souscription pocket watches. Pure and targeted, impressed by the previous and but trendy, let’s take a better have a look at the brand new Breguet Classique Souscription reference 2025. 

The souscription idea and pocket watches

At this time, the historic and again then groundbreaking souscription pocket watch is reborn as a wristwatch. However what was the souscription pocket watch, and why is it as vital as among the nice innovations of the model’s founder? Effectively, as mentioned, Abraham-Louis Breguet was not only a watchmaker with concepts forward of his time, who created mechanisms such because the tourbillon. A.L. Breguet was additionally a sensible, visionary businessman who one way or the other created one of many first watch manufacturers, with a particular design and traits to face out from the gang – what we’ll later name Breguet’s unmistakable indicators (the Breguet fingers, the Breguet numerals, the fluted bands, the guilloché dials, the hidden signature to guard his model from counterfeiters). However this additionally led him to have a business-oriented imaginative and prescient for his firm.

Whereas he was again in his nation of start, Switzerland, through the French Revolution (from 1793 to 1795), A.L. Breguet noticed the necessity to develop his enterprise but in addition to make it extra secure. Manufacturing a number of watches with out them being bought upfront means having strong funds… To counter that, Breguet had a daring industrial thought: an apparently easy timepiece accompanied by a advertising and marketing technique named souscription (subscription in English). By paying 1 / 4 of the value when the order was positioned, clients enabled Breguet to organise its manufacturing and pay its craftsmen upfront – one thing unprecedented again then in watchmaking – but in addition with an nearly standardised sequence of watches. Lastly, the watch was additionally the topic of an promoting pamphlet, an actual innovation for the time, so Breguet may handle its potential clients instantly. It was as a lot a watchmaking innovation as a reinvention of the promoting strategies.

In 1795, Breguet went again to Paris with many new concepts in thoughts, together with this new industrial technique. The primary souscription pocket watches seem as early as 1796 in gross sales registers, despite the fact that primarily marketed from 1797 onwards. The watch was, in comparison with different creations of the person, easy and meant to be an object for day by day use, with a dependable motion. This 61mm pocket watch had a white enamel dial and a motion with a comparatively easy structure – no issues – with a single-hand show. Round 700 timepieces have been produced on this method over greater than 30 years. Most have been product of gold with a finely guilloched caseband.

The motion of most fashions was characterised by its massive central barrel and triangular stepped bridges, with a completely gilt end. It options a number of sensible options, comparable to temperature compensation for the carbon metal stability spring, shock safety for the stability pivots (Breguet’s pare-chute) and a ruby cylinder escapement. There was no prime cowl however solely a crystal over a white enamel dial with a single blued metal hand, pointing at a 5-minute divided observe with traditional Breguet numerals. A secret signature was normally discovered beneath the 12 o’clock marker, engraved on the enamel’s floor with a pantograph. There’s an attention-grabbing deconstruction to find right here at The Bare Watchmaker.

The Breguet Classique Souscription 2025

As mentioned, the primary watch created to have a good time Breguet’s 250th anniversary is a trustworthy tribute to the easy however vital souscription pocket watches, remodeled into a chic wristwatch. However moreover the unmistakable resemblance to those vintage fashions, there are some issues to say about this Classique Souscription 2025, a watch that feels each extraordinarily Breguet and but strikes away from sure codes we’ve come to count on lately. What’s simple is the connection, each design-wise and mechanically, with the outdated souscription pocket watches, as you may see beneath.

Let’s begin with the case. The Classique Souscription is a contemporary, elegant watch with a traditional enchantment. It measures a comparatively compact 40mm in diameter, with a thickness of 10.8mm – not probably the most compact nor the thinnest, however the entire level wasn’t to create a tuxedo-style timepiece right here, however to carry the identical spirit of simplicity and restrained class because the outdated pocket watches. What strikes most is the precise design of the watch, which appears like a robust departure from all present Classique fashions. Right here, you received’t discover the standard fluted caseband and soldered straight lugs with screw bars.

As an alternative, the case of the Classique Souscription has a extra conventional 3-part building with lugs built-in inside the center case, the latter being satin-brushed on the flanks, with lug ideas that finish with an nearly teardrop form (there’s a little bit of Laurent Ferrier on this easy type). These, nonetheless, supply higher ergonomics than the normal straight lugs, and a greater match on the wrist. A refined domed bezel frames a sapphire crystal with a “chevé” profile – a reference to a different revolutionary type of Breguet, with a crystal that was thinner and fewer domed than others, with a comparatively flat floor and a bevel on the sting. The again brings traditional guilloché across the see-through caseback.

Modernity hasn’t been forgotten – particularly because the new CEO, Gregory Kissling, is well-known to have been behind many of the current improvements at Omega. The case of the Breguet Classique Souscription 2025 is bringing a brand new alloy to the model, named Breguet gold. Composed of 75% gold, this yellow gold alloy is enriched with silver, copper and palladium to make sure its resistance to discolouration and its stability over time. It additionally has a selected brilliance and a barely extra muted yellow hue than traditional yellow gold – not that totally different from Moonshine gold used at Omega (coincidentally… or not)

As for the dial of this Breguet Classique Souscription, the resemblance to the vintage fashions is robust. This new watch options mainly a decreased model of the dial discovered on outdated souscription pocket watches – together with the structure, show and supplies. The dial is product of white grand feu enamel over a gold base, with black, petit feu enamel Breguet emblem, Breguet Arabic numerals and minute observe – the latter being modelled after that of the pocket watch with the identical sectoring indicating the hours and the 5, 10, 15 and 30-minute markings. Subsequent to the minute observe are traditional and extremely elegant, barely inclined Breguet Arabic numerals.

This clear face contains a single hand, just like the outdated souscription watches did, with a metal, open-tipped Breguet hand, which has been flame-blued and curved by hand. Studying the time in all fairness exact, as with all single-hand watches, however right here the legibility and distinction are nice. A pleasant tribute to the previous might be discovered, at the very least in sure mild circumstances, at 6 o’clock… Identical to outdated fashions, the Classique Souscription contains a secret Breguet signature with the inscriptions “Souscription”, the distinctive serial quantity, and the Breguet emblem discreetly showing. And like within the outdated days, it’s right here nonetheless produced historically utilizing a precision device geared up with articulated arms: the diamond-point pantograph, which makes it potential to delicately engrave this signature into the enamel.

Turning the watch over reveals a fantastically designed motion, as soon as once more faithfully recreating the look of the motion discovered within the souscription watches. In fact, not solely has the scale been decreased (35.6mm x 5.7mm) in comparison with the pocket watches, however some modernity has been introduced… However with a deep respect for the vintage fashions. The brass-made calibre VS00 is constructed round a big central ratchet, held in place by an outsized triangular bridge, with two further stepped bridges for the primary wheel and the stability wheel, and two smaller triangular bridges for the gear prepare – general, a mode that’s equivalent to what Breguet has completed with the Custom assortment, because the calibre VS00 shares its technical base with these watches.

This hand-wound motion depends on a big, single barrel that delivers a 96-hour energy reserve, with a regulating organ beating at 3Hz. The stability spring is produced from non-magnetic Nivachron (a titanium-based alloy), is blued and contains a Breguet overcoil. The stability pivots embrace a contemporary anti-shock gadget that’s been formed like an outdated pare-chute (once more, shared with the Custom fashions), and the wheels have a traditional Breguet 5-spoke design. The motion’s ending is according to the outdated pocket watches, with the brass bridges and plate being finely shot-blasted, and the motion is gilded in the identical shade as Breguet gold. The ornament additionally contains polished bevels, heat-blued screws and varied engravings – hand-engraved Breguet and variety of the watch, in addition to a textual content on the central ratchet wheel (the founder’s phrases, explaining the design of the Souscription motion and brought from his promoting brochure).

The Breguet Classique Souscription 2025 is worn on a navy blue large-scaled alligator leather-based, with a discreet gradient impact, and closed by an 18k Breguet gold pin buckle. It’s delivered in a brand new presentation field that pays tribute to the crimson Moroccan leather-based instances as soon as utilized by A.-L. Breguet, with the person serial quantity and emblem on prime.

Availability & Worth

The Breguet Classique Souscription 2025 (reference 2025BH/28/9W6) will not be launched as a restricted version however will be a part of the everlasting assortment. Will probably be priced at CHF 45,000 (incl. taxes) or EUR 52,800 (incl. taxes). Briefly, a really good begin for the 250th anniversary celebrations… For extra particulars, please go to breguet.com.