Breguet Classique Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar

In the world of luxury watches, there’s no doubt that there’s often a tug of war between price and complication. The more sophisticated, intricate, and elaborate a movement is, the higher up the monetary ladder a watch will climb. Only the most respected high-horology names even venture to attempt the most complicated movements.

Today’s watch is an anomaly in this convention. No, this piece isn’t made by a little-known boutique manufacturer— it’s made by Breguet, one of the most revered brands in horological history. No, this piece isn’t a simple time-only dress watch—- it’s a tourbillon and a perpetual calendar executed in a single slim package. And yet, this watch trades for less than many watches that feature just one of the aforementioned complications. This watch is one of the rare exceptions, not because it’s inexpensive, but because it represents the marriage of two of the greatest complications and trades at a fraction of the cost for every bit as much watch.

The Breguet Classique Reference 3757 is everything you could possibly want in the ultimate high horology everyday masterpiece. It’s slim and wearable; it features a breathtaking guilloché dial executed consistent with tradition by hand on a rose lathe; it has both perpetual calendar and tourbillon functionality; the caseback features extensive hand engraving across the movement baseplate; let’s face it— it’s a pretty frickin’ incredible watch.

With sapphire crystals front and back, this watch is an exercise in both aesthetic and mechanical refinement, and it is the type of piece that you will want in your collection and never sell.

If you truly like all that is fine dress watches — as well as all the accoutrements of a perpetual calendar and a tourbillon — than it’s pretty hard to imagine you disliking this watch. 

Few companies are so steeped in history that their name has become a byword for a particular type of product or style. Breguet is one such company: Their famously elegant numerical typeface and matching handset is now de rigueur amongst the most sophisticated dress watches, from Patek Philippe to Longines to, of course, Breguet itself.

However, these numerals and hands are but a single innovation in a long list of horological firsts devised by master watchmaker and inventor Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823), a Neuchatel-born savant whose Parisian career saw the advent of myriad watchmaking creations that we take for granted today. Indeed, it was Breguet who devised the first self-winding watches, as well as the first gongs for repeating watches and the tourbillon. Not many inventors can claim the king and queen of France as patrons, but indeed King Louis XVI and his bride Marie Antoinette were amongst his admirers.

20th-century Breguet is no less storied: The company’s Type 20 pilot’s chronograph issued to the French Aéronautique Militaire in the 1950s provided a benchmark for military watch design. Its stark black dial and utilitarian look belied the sophisticated retour en vol (“flyback”) mechanism within the movement, which allowed a pilot to stop, reset and start the chronograph by depressing the bottom pusher just once.

More recently, under the current management of Mark A. Hayek, modern Breguet has continued to register new patents and amass a dedicated following. The brand’s “Classique” dress watches from the 1990s and 2000s, for example, feature some of the most striking dials in modern watchmaking, making use of guilloché patterns, blue steeled hands and Roman numerals. While the company’s contemporary offerings continue to increase in sophistication and the number of complications available, it’s surely these simple, gorgeous time-only models that best encapsulate the elegant timepieces of A.L. Breguet himself.

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Analog:Shift stands behind the authenticity of our products in perpetuity.

Condition

Since our pieces are vintage or pre-owned, please expect wear & patina from usage and age. Please read each item description and examine all product images.

Warranty

We back each Analog:Shift vintage timepiece with a one-year mechanical warranty from the date of purchase.

International Buyers

Please contact us prior to purchase for additional details on shipping and payment options.

All of our watches include complementary insured shipping within the 50 states.

Most of our products are on hand and will ship directly from our headquarters in New York City. In some cases, watches will be shipped directly from one of our authorized partners.

We generally ship our products via FedEx, fully insured, within 5 business days of purchase. An adult signature is required for receipt of all packages for insurance purposes. Expedited shipping is available at an additional cost. We are also happy to hand deliver your purchase in Manhattan or you may pick it up at our showroom.

Returns must be sent overnight or by priority international delivery, fully insured and paid for by the customer. A restocking fee may apply. Watches must be returned in the same condition as initially shipped.

We welcome international buyers, please contact us prior to purchase for additional details on shipping and payment options.