Today, 26 June, marks one of the most significant anniversaries in the history of watchmaking. Exactly 225 years ago, on 26 June 1801 (7 Messidor, Year IX of the French Republican calendar), Abraham-Louis Breguet was granted the patent for the Tourbillon, an invention conceived to improve chronometric precision by compensating for the effects of gravity on a watch’s regulating organ.
The idea took shape during the years Breguet spent away from Paris following the outbreak of the French Revolution. Returning to the French capital in 1795, the master watchmaker resumed work on several inventions that would define his legacy, including the Sympathique clock, the Souscription watch and the tactile “montre à tact”.
Among them was the Tourbillon regulator, whose rotating cage averages out positional errors by continuously changing the orientation of the escapement and balance. More than two centuries later, it remains one of the most technically sophisticated mechanisms in fine watchmaking.
We explored the history of this remarkable invention and its lasting influence in our dedicated feature, “The Tourbillon, history of a watchmaking feat“.
To commemorate the 225th anniversary of the patent, Breguet introduces the new Classique Tourbillon 7357. Presented in two variations, the model directly traces its lineage to one of the Manufacture’s most historically important wristwatches.
The Classique Tourbillon 7357 follows in the footsteps of the celebrated Ref. 3350, introduced in 1989 as the first modern Breguet wristwatch equipped with a tourbillon.
At a time when traditional high-end mechanical watchmaking was still appreciated by only a limited circle of collectors, the Ref. 3350 played a decisive role in bringing Abraham-Louis Breguet’s invention back to the forefront of contemporary horology. Its Calibre 558 would become one of the defining tourbillon movements of the late twentieth century.
Rather than reproducing that historic watch, the new Classique Tourbillon 7357 reinterprets it through the design language introduced during Breguet’s 250th anniversary celebrations in 2025.
Offered in two versions — Ref. 7357BH/1H/386 in 18 ct Breguet gold and Ref. 7357PT/1A/386 in platinum — the watch is housed in a refined 35 mm case measuring 9.2 mm thick.
The redesigned lugs sit more naturally on the wrist, while the characteristic fluted caseband, hand-executed using traditional guilloché techniques, remains one of the collection’s defining features.
The dial is crafted from 18 ct gold and decorated entirely by hand using two of the Manufacture’s most emblematic guilloché motifs.
A Clous de Paris pattern occupies the centre, while a Grain d’Orge motif extends around the chapter ring. Breguet Arabic numerals, originally developed by Abraham-Louis Breguet himself at the end of the eighteenth century, indicate the hours, accompanied by the Maison’s characteristic open-tipped hands, finished in Bleu de France.
Positioned at 6 o’clock, the one-minute tourbillon sits slightly below the level of the dial, exposing more of the movement beneath and creating additional visual depth.
The traditional bridge of the historic Calibre 558 has been reinterpreted as an elegant double-arched construction, while four blue inlays around the dial, a colour reserved by the Manufacture for exceptional creations, frame the anniversary inscriptions: “Brevet du 7 Messidor An 9” and “Tourbillon 225th Anniversary”.
Visible through the sapphire crystal caseback is the new manually wound Calibre 187B, the direct successor to the celebrated Calibre 558.
Measuring 30 mm in diameter and only 4.85 mm thick, the movement retains the historically correct frequency of 2.5 Hz (18,000 vibrations per hour), the same cadence favoured by Abraham-Louis Breguet himself and adopted by the 1989 reference.
While remaining faithful to its predecessor’s architecture, the movement benefits from substantial technical updates.
A silicon escapement and a patented Breguet Nivachron balance spring improve resistance to magnetic fields, while the power reserve has been increased to 60 hours.
Comprising 190 components and 21 jewels, the movement also carries the recently introduced Breguet Hallmark, certifying both its technical performance and finishing.
The rear of the movement is decorated with a newly created hand-guilloché pattern inspired by the Dent de Vaulion, one of the emblematic peaks overlooking the Vallée de Joux.
The platinum reference features an anthracite-treated 18 ct gold dial paired with a grey calfskin strap and a platinum triple-folding clasp, while the Breguet gold version combines a silvered gold dial with a beige calfskin strap and matching Breguet gold deployant clasp.
The Classique Tourbillon 7357BH/1H/386 in Breguet gold is priced at €166,500, while the Classique Tourbillon 7357PT/1A/386 in platinum is priced at €183,100.
Alongside the new Classique Tourbillon 7357, Breguet has also unveiled additional Tourbillon creations to mark this important anniversary, including new interpretations within the Classique, Tradition and Marine collections. We will present these watches in dedicated articles over the coming days. breguet.com
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