Showing at WatchTime IBG 2014: Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique


Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique - rose goldWatchTime and noted watch collector and expert Jeff Kingston have teamed up again for the 2014 edition of the popular “Inside Basel.Geneva” series of collector events, kicking off tomorrow night, September 5, in Chicago. Among the core sponsoring watch brands is Breguet, which will showcase its Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique 5377 at the events.

The Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique 5377, which the brand says is the world’s thinnest self-winding tourbillon watch, comes in either a platinum or rose-gold case that measures 42 mm in diameter and an astoundingly slender 7 mm thick. Its movement, manufacture Caliber 581DR, is only 3 mm thick. The off-centered tourbillon carriage is made of titanium and protected by a number of patents. The movement is also fitted with a non-magnetic silicon balance spring and an escapement made of silicon and a special non-magnetic steel. Also notable are the movement’s “high energy” barrel, which provides a 90-hour power reserve, and the 4-Hz frequency of its balance — exceptionally high for a tourbillon movement. To achieve this watch’s remarkable thinness, Breguet’s watchmakers incorporated a peripheral winding rotor made of platinum, which winds the movement in both directions of its spin.

Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique - rose gold

The 18k gold dial is unmistakably Breguet: it is silvered and engine-turned  in four different patterns, with Roman numeral hour markers and open-tipped blue Breguet hands made of blued steel. The hours-and-minutes chapter has a clou de Paris hobnail pattern edged by a barleycorn motif. The power-reserve indicator at 8:30 is decorated with engine-turned straight chevrons, with cross-hatched borders on each element. The tourbillon bridge has a blue sapphire set in its center; the small seconds are displayed on the tourbillon’s axis.

The Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique 5377 has a finely fluted caseband (another hallmark of the Breguet brand), a sapphire caseback, and welded lugs with screw bars. It comes on a leather strap with triple-blade folding clasp. Prices are $149,500 for the rose-gold watch and $163,800 for the platinum.

Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique - platinum-front
Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique - platinum-back

IBG 2014 attendees will have the rare chance to see the Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique 5377 up close and in person, and try it on for themselves. A few tickets still remain, so click here for more on the event and to order tickets.

 

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