THE ESSENTIALS

MAKE: BREGUET
MODEL: 3357B
YEAR: 2007
BOX/PAPERS: NO/NO
CASE DIAMETER: 36mm
CASE MATERIAL: 18K YELLOW GOLD
BRACELET MATERIAL: LEATHER
MOVEMENT: MANUAL WIND

The 3357 isn’t here to show off; it’s here to remind you what real watchmaking feels like. Think of it as Breguet whispering, not shouting. It packs a hand-wound calibre 558 with a one-minute tourbillon under its hand-turned silvered guilloché dial. The off-centre time display and perfectly exposed tourbillon at 6 o’clock give it old-school charm. Add the blued Breguet hands, Roman numerals, and the subtly hidden Breguet signature, and you’ve got quiet yet audacious craftsmanship.

What gets me (Stef) every time is how it wears. Slim enough to slip under a cuff but with a presence that rewards anyone who leans in, it’s a wrist-conversation starter. Collectors who know understand that this watch doesn’t need gimmicks: the finely finished movement, polished tourbillon cage, and engraved dial textures are the real calling cards.

Originally (with Roth) this model was listed at $45,000 in 1988, marking it as serious haute horlogerie from the start—not a flashy experiment. If you’re after loud modern tourbillons, look elsewhere. But if you want grace, legacy, and that satisfying tick-tick of a tourbillon doing exactly what it was built to do, the 3357 might just be what you’re after.

The watch itself has been enjoyed over time. It has been lightly valeted in the past and has some surface marks on the polished areas. The original deployment clasp also shows some surface marks. The watch has been freshly serviced and is running at +4 s/d, 300 amps, with a beat error of 0.2 ms.

Considering that these watches reached £115k new as of last year, they can be had for even less than the original retail price 37 years ago—tremendous value when you consider the skill required to produce them in today’s world.