The Reason
An oversized Tourbillon driven by a fusee closely resembling the original Breguet pocket watch DNA from the early nineteenth century.
(Launched in 2010)
Funtions: offset minute and hour hands with power reserve above the barrel.
Winding manual Power reserve 50 hours Calibre 569 Jewels 43 Frequency 2.5Hz Escapement Swiss inverted straight-line lever / Balance-spring silicon (3 piece) Breguet free-sprung overcoil Case metal platinum, Sapphire case-back and bezel Diameter 41mm Case thickness 15.95mm Water-resistant 30m
Each Breguet ‘Tradition’ watch has a unique serial number which is found both on the dial and case back, then recorded in the company archives.
The side of the case with the traditional fluting.
Diverse images of the assembled watch. For added visibility of the tourbillon cage and fusee mechanism the case is kept low and a high box crystal is used into which the toubillon bridge and dial rise.
The design styling follows that of early Breguet but the colours are representative of modern horology. Mixing anthracite coloured bridges and main-plate surface finishes, with rhodium treated wheels and titanium cage and balance.
The bezel with box-sapphire removed showing the high cage bridge, dial and hands.
The compression case back removed.
The large, dial size tourbillon cage mirroring the dial. Made from titanium with silicon balance spring.
The steel arrow on the upper barrel ring pointing to the small rectangular dial indicates the level of the power reserve.
The movement removed from the case.
The engine turned dial prior to being associated to the case and having the archive number added.
The blued steel hands. The second image shows how the hands are received prior to assembly.
The dial removed showing the motion-work upon which the hands are driven.
The toubillon bridge removed.
The tourbillon bridge with gold chaton and jewel.
The small lever shown below the fixed wheel in white rhodium is a security measure for the cage in case of a severe impact, preventing the cage from moving upwards. Once the tourbillon is assembled the lever sits on the pin. The first image shows the lever moved to the left, the position needed to remove the tourbillon.
Diverse images showing the cage tourbillon and dial removed with tension still on the fusee from the barrel.
The fixed wheel which sits on the main-plate below the tourbillon, its teeth mesh with the escape wheel pinion driving the escapement and balance. The power driving the actual tourbillon comes from a wheel that enters the fixed wheel (through the cut out) driving the pinion found at the bottom of the tourbillon cage on the lower axe.
The tourbillon removed from the movement. Image 1 shows it sitting on a support used for assembly.
An exploded view of the tourbillon cage.
The balance removed showing the Swiss lever and escape wheel.
The balance wheel and cage components. No pillars present, the upper bridge is joined to the lower through a stepped designed. (The Breguet overcoil is made in silicon in three parts, the lower and upper spring joined by a small plate).
The movement sitting on a movement holder, dial down.
The setting/winding bridge removed, showing the hidden gears underneath.
The setting/winding bridge with the winding pinion still screwed in place.
All upper bridges removed, with no tension remaining on the fusee.
The fusee and barrel bridge which also acts as the support for the motion work and the dial, including part of the power reserve mechanism.
An exploded view of the barrel bridge assembly.
The barrel.
An exploded view of the barrel showing the two mainsprings inside.
The fusee chain.
An exploded view with the barrel bridge, barrel and fusee mechanism.
The dismantled fusee.
An exploded view of the fusee.
Diverse images of the back of the calibre assembled and with separate bridges.
The dismantled main-pate.
Summary
Although leaning to a very classical design aesthetic, the execution is modern and is possibly reflective of what A.-L.Breguet himself may have made today. Respecting his original design codes of pragmatic design and symmetry, but executed using modern materials such as titanium, silicon and sapphire to an effective result.
Specialised tooling for the calibre.
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