Breguet Celebrates “Tourbillon Day,” Announces Dates for New Exhibition

Breguet instituted a new holiday on the horological events calendar this week. On June 26, the brand celebrated “Tourbillon Day,” the anniversary of the day in 1801 that the first tourbillon, created by the brand’s namesake, master watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, in 1801. At events held simultaneously in Breguet’s New York, Bal Harbour, and Las Vegas boutiques, guests were invited for a champagne toast throughout the day and had the opportunity to view the brand’s expansive collection of tourbillon timepieces.

Today, the Breguet brand continues to pay tribute to this groundbreaking invention, which neutralized the effects of gravity for increased precision in mechanical timepieces, by presenting an exhibition entitled “Breguet, the innovator. Inventor of the Tourbillon,” which showcases the legacy and impact of the tourbillon in modern watchmaking. At the event, Breguet’s U.S. brand manager Michael Nelson announced the U.S. dates and locations (below) of the internationally touring exhibit, which launched in Geneva in January 2013 and will also make stops in Europe and Asia.

·         Breguet Boutique Rodeo Drive: Oct 3-19, 2013
·         Tourbillon Boutique Chicago: Oct 24-29, 2013
·         Breguet Boutique Fifth Avenue: Nov 7-17, 2013

A highlight of the “Tourbillon Day” festivities in the New York boutique (in addition to the “Happy Birthday, Tourbillon” cake made by a local bakery specially for the event) was the new Ultra-thin Tourbillon 5377, unveiled at Baselworld 2013 and set to be released in 2014. This timepiece features a slim case only 7 mm in thickness, with a movement only 3 mm thick. The watch also has a periphery rotor which oscillates around the side of the case allowing the wearer an unobstructed view of the movement.