Amazing new creation from Breguet and the Swatch Group – with 823 parts.
The jewel of the Swatch group, Breguet has always had an eye for history without risking stagnation. A quick history lesson: It’s founder, Abraham Louis Breguet, founded the company in 1775 and invented many horological landmarks, such as the tourbillon. The premier watchmaker in working in France at the time, the Neuchâtel native was commissioned to construct the very ne plus ultra of horology at the time, which was to be given to Marie Antoinette. The pocket watch was to contain (apart from rudimentary timetelling characteristics) a perpetual calender, a repeater, a thermometer, a chronograph, a power-reserve and even a pare-chute (a special type of suspension invented by Breguet to protect the balance staff against shocks. An impressive list of feats today, even moreso in 1827 when the watch was completed. Mr Breguet had sadly died four years earlier, and Maria Antoinette had parted company with her head some 34 years previously. – From James List