Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Anniversaire 5365

Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Anniversaire 5365

Breguet - Inventor of the Tourbillon

On June 26, 1801, or on “7 Messidor An IX”, to use the French Republican calendar in force at the time, Abraham-Louis Breguet secured a patent in Paris for his “watch compensating for all of the inequalities that may be found in the balance wheel and mainspring”. Breguet named his invention the “tourbillon” (or “whirlwind”) in line with the common practice at the time to use terms connected to astronomy.

Exactly 220 years later, the House of Breguet is paying homage to its founder’s invention, which opened up a new world of precision, stability, and elegance in fine horology. Breguet’s tribute comes in the form of the Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Anniversaire 5365.

This timepiece – with its limited run of 35 pieces, the same number of tourbillon watches made during Abraham-Louis Breguet’s lifetime – is a heartfelt tribute to the timeless aesthetic and visionary genius of the master watchmaker. In its attempts at authenticity, Breguet’s design for this timepiece is elegant and understated, reaffirming the brand’s standards put in place by its founder.

Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Anniversaire 5365

Throughout its history, Breguet has refined both the range of its engine-turning work and its predilection for specific motifs. Such is the case with the Clous de Paris, which takes up the entire central part of the timepiece. Handmade with a diamond chisel, it is created by interlacing engraved and crossed lines with a pitch of only 0.25 millimeters. From a distance of 50 centimeters (the usual distance for reading a wristwatch), it gives the illusion of a matte finish. This makes it easier to read the hours and minutes, indicated by the two central blued steel off-center open-tipped hands, now known as “Breguet hands.” On the periphery, the piece is decorated with a grain d’orge (or “barley grain”) motif that is cherished by the brand. On the rear of the piece, the platinum rotor is engine-turned with a wave motif.

Celebrating 220 years of the Tourbillon

For this anniversary piece, Breguet has fitted its reference 5365 with a 60-second tourbillon, visible between 4 and 6 o’clock, with one of these axes showing the seconds. More eagle-eyed horologists will notice two special features. Firstly, the piece’s upper bridge is made of blued steel, which is something of an unusual finish for a tourbillon in the Classique collection. Secondly, the cartouche affixed above the tourbillon, bears the text “Brevet No 157”, a reference to the patent number awarded to Abraham-Louis Breguet for his invention a mere 220 years ago.

This tribute is repeated on the rear of the piece, via the engraving “Anniversaire 1801–2021” on the barrel, and “Brevet No 157 Du 7 Messidor An IX” upon the lower bridge of the tourbillon, alongside the individual number of each piece. All of these references, along with the Breguet signature on the rotor, are engraved by hand. To the right of the movement, there is a faithful reproduction of the original watercolor plate used by Abraham-Louis Breguet when filing his 1801 patent application for a tourbillon regulator.