The esteemed Swiss manufacture Breguet this month now presents a twist on their Tradition Quantième Rétrogade, offering a picture-perfect example from the brand. Marked by its resolutely modern style, the look is created by the bold contrast between the blue off-center subdial for the time indication and the likewise blue retrograde date display with the anthracite-clad movement that is on full display on the dial.
Despite its contemporary appearance, the white gold timepiece revisits early timepieces of the ingenious Abraham-Louis Breguet. From the shape of the bridges to the pare-chute shock-absorber system, as well as the size of the balance and the wheels, all the components are implicitly inspired by the “souscription” and tact watches that were designed to read the time by “touching” the hour hand and elevated indices in settings where it was the etiquette to not look pull out the pocket watch and have a look on the time display.
The gold dial features a hand-guilloché Clous de Paris motif, traditional Roman numerals and open-tipped hands. As found on the watches that inspired it, the dial is secured by three screws. The reference 7597 model also features a retrograde date, a function cherished by the brand whose founder was one of the first watchmakers to develop a timepiece equipped with this complication. To ensure a smooth sweep over the mechanism, the distance between the center and the date sector required the development of a multi-level blued steel hand. In addition, to improve the legibility of the date indication, its sector spreads out over 180 degrees.
The 40 mm case houses the 505Q self-winding movement. This movement is equipped with an inverted lever escapement and silicon horns. This material is also used to produce the Breguet balance-spring. Its multiple properties include resistance to corrosion and wear, insensitivity to magnetic fields as well as enhanced timekeeping precision. The balance of the new Tradition Quantième Rétrograde oscillates at a frequency of 3 Hz and amasses a 50-hour power reserve. The 269-part movement is only 8.7 mm thick.
While the dial showcases beautiful details of the movement’s architecture, the sapphire caseback reveals the gold oscillating weight, whose shape refers to the one on the perpétuelle watch created by Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1780. The Breguet Tradition Quantième Rétrogade 7597 retails for $38,600.
To learn more, visit Breguet, here.
