THE ESSENTIALS
MAKE: BREGUET
MODEL: 5907BR
YEAR: 2006
BOX/PAPERS: NO/NO
CASE DIAMETER: 35MM
CASE MATERIAL: 18K ROSE GOLD
BRACELET MATERIAL: LEATHER
MOVEMENT: MANUAL WIND
If you’ve met me, you’ve likely heard me blabbing on about vintage and neo-vintage Breguets. Despite being one of the oldest surviving and most prestigious names in horology—and a manufacture synonymous with watchmaking excellence—Breguet watches from the last few decades are still almost entirely overlooked. (I must admit, I’m permanently anxious about people waking up to this…)
Established in 1775 by Abraham-Louis Breguet, the brand is renowned for its timeless elegance (think Breguet hands and numerals) and for pioneering numerous horological innovations, including the tourbillon and the Breguet overcoil. Breguet’s pocket watches from the 18th and 19th centuries were favoured by European royalty and prominent historical figures—Napoleon, for example—and they remain among the most desirable timepieces ever made.
In 1970, the Chaumet brothers acquired the brand following its struggles during the mid-20th century and the Quartz Crisis. Two years later, they hired the great Daniel Roth, with Louis-Maurice Caillet joining shortly afterwards. Together, they created some of the most beautiful and collectible Breguet wristwatches ever produced, combining modern horological innovation with the brand’s classical design language. Although Roth left to establish his own manufacture in 1987 following Chaumet’s bankruptcy, many of his creations—including the perpetual calendar ref. 3050, tourbillon ref. 3357, and triple-calendar ref. 3040—remained in production for years under new ownership and are regarded as modern classics today.
Breguet is best known for its complicated watches—and for its remarkable ability to fit a power reserve, moon phase, perpetual calendar, and other complications into classically proportioned cases with beautifully balanced dials. The present example, however, demonstrates the manufacture’s mastery at the other end of the spectrum. The time-only ref. 5907, crafted in 18K rose gold as part of the Classique collection, is one of those watches that makes you laugh when you compare the level of watchmaking to its current price tag.
The dial features three different guilloché patterns, framed by painted Roman numerals and gold cabochon hour markers, with a small seconds subdial completing the layout. Blued steel Breguet hands tie everything together beautifully. At 35 mm, the watch is perfectly proportioned and wears wonderfully on a wide variety of wrist sizes. Through the sapphire caseback, the beautifully hand-finished manual-wind calibre 511DR is on full display, complete with its elegant power reserve indicator and blued steel hand.
The movement is running at +1 s/d, with 210° amplitude and a 0.1 ms beat error.
It has been a real struggle not to keep this one for ourselves. A wonderfully understated Breguet that would no doubt bring a smile to its next owner's face.