250 Years Later: The Breguet Paradox
Fernando AldeaBreguet celebrates its 250th anniversary with a technically impeccable watch, yet disconnected from the present. A brand that invented the tourbillon today seems to live in eternal homage to itself. How can it be that one of the most influential houses in history remains off the radar of contemporary collectors?
Let's get straight to the point. Breguet has released four watches to celebrate its 250-year history. The simplest is called the Classique Souscription 2025 , and while the name promises a throwback to the past, what we get is more of a stylish reminder of how out of touch the brand is with the present. A 40mm, 18-karat gold Breguet case, a manually wound caliber VS00 with a four-day power reserve, a white grand feu enameled gold dial with hand-painted Breguet numerals, and a single central hand to tell the time. Yes, just one. Because to celebrate 250 years of innovation, Breguet decided to do away with the minute hand in honor of its first subscription watch from the 18th century, which also used a single hand. In other words, a stylish historical homage, but in 2025 it reads like an AI sundial. Technically beautiful, yes. Emotionally, not so much.
And it's not that the watch is bad, quite the opposite. It's a kind of miniature neoclassical poetry. But that's precisely the problem. It's like a great movie that's just out of theaters. While others make watches that connect with architects, designers, car enthusiasts, young collectors, and enthusiasts of the present, Breguet seems convinced that ornamentation and enamel are enough. But the industry is on a different level . There are integrated cases, ultra-light or thin ones, infinite colors, carefully studied proportions, refined storytelling, and—although we don't like it very much—watches that sell out in less than a day. How many memes have you seen this year about a Breguet? Exactly.
What hurts isn't the slip, it's the contradiction. Because if there's a brand born to break the mold, it was precisely Breguet. The good Abraham-Louis was a visionary. He invented fundamental complications, flirted with science and nobility alike, and left an indelible mark on the history of watchmaking. Today, however, his horological offspring are dedicated to making things with the same impact as a restaurant making "molecular food" twenty years after El Bulli. Innovation cannot be a memory. And past greatness, when it becomes routine, smells more of a museum than a manufacture.
And what can we say about this anniversary watch? A limited edition of 250 pieces, featuring the VS00 caliber with a silicon escapement, a Breguet balance wheel, a hand-decorated plate, and an engraving of the founder's name. It's a fitting tribute, but one that doesn't inspire desire. It might excite a handful of purists (or those who read Hodinkee religiously), but does it excite anyone under 50? Does it provoke conversation, awe, or a three-year waiting list? Difficult. It's like reciting a Latin poem when everyone is dancing to the unbearable reggaeton . It may be beautiful, but nothing happens in this context. The emotion it should provoke dissolves like "tears in rain"...
Hopefully, this birthday marks something more than a fancy cake and grand feu enamel. Hopefully, Breguet will look less in the mirror and more out the window. Because there are things that only a brand like this can do. But it has to want to. And for that, it must wake up from its lethargy, shake off the inner Louis XVI, and seriously ask itself what it means to be relevant today. Don't forget, Breguet, you were the future. And the future looks less and less like you.
