Breguet Classique Chronometrie 10Hz Watch

I consider this cool new Breguet watch as one of the neatest new pieces in their 2012 collection. It is all based on a marriage of the brand's iconic classic look and their highly sophisticated, high frequency mechanical movement. It isn't for everyone, but enough hardcore watch lovers like me will no doubt get excited by a piece like this.

The full name of the watch is the Breguet Classique Chronometrie 10Hz Reference 7727. While the reference number is 7727, that is not the number you'll find on the dial of the watch. Next to the Breguet logo on the dial is a number that must be matched by a similar number on the movement. If the numbers don't match then according to Breguet, the watch is not authentic. That is something I didn't know about their watches before.




The watch case is 41mm wide and relatively thin. This model is in 18k rose gold with fluted sides and that classic Breguet Classique look. The dial of the watch is 18k silvered gold that has been machine guilloche engraved. The asymmetrical yet balanced look is a signature style of Breguet ever since the beginning. The face is completed with blued steel hands - and one silicon hand.

That's right, the small 1/10 of a second hand that overlaps the subsidiary seconds hand is in silicon. It rapidly spins around the dial letting you know something special is going on here. The exposed part of the movement is likely connected to the balance wheel assembly. Also on the dial is the time and a power reserve indicator.







Inside the watch is a new movement based on Breguet's high frequency research. The 10 hertz movement was debuted in the Breguet Type XXII chronograph watch here. For 2012 the concept is displayed in this non-chronograph caliber 574 DR manually wound movement. It has 60 hours of power reserve and a silicon balance spring and escapement. According to Breguet, there is some magnetic system used to maintain the very fast operation of the balance wheel. Because the hairspring and escapement are in silicon, they are not affected by any magnetic fields.




Through the rear of the case you can see the exposed movement through the sapphire crystal caseback. The balance wheel is smaller given how fast it moves. It is quite impressive to see it in action. 10 Hz is more than twice as fast as a standard 4 Hz mechanical movement, and twice as fast as a 5 Hz Zenith El Primero movement. How does all that relate to accuracy? To be honest I am not sure. Theoretically it should improve accuracy. By how much it is hard to say. Breguet doesn't publish those details, but I have a feeling that the 7727 should be at least appreciably more accurate than lower frequency movements. In the end, you aren't gonna get a watch like this for perfect timing, but rather for the technology and visuals.