Montres Breguet has kicked off its 250th anniversary celebrations with the release of the Classique Souscription 2025. Paying homage to the original pocket watch created by the brand’s founder to announce to clients his return to Paris, the 2025 model is a faithful modernisation and rendition of the original.
The release is emblematic of the change in direction ushered in by Gregory Kissling, the newly minted CEO for the Swatch Group’s flagship marque, and a demonstration of the embarrassment of riches that lie in Breguet’s history.
Abraham-Louis Breguet started his firm on the Quai de l’Horloge, Île de la Cité, in 1775. He achieved immediate success with his watches, primarily due to the innovative quality of his mechanisms and elegant design, but the French Revolution forced a pause on his business. He moved to Switzerland and it wasn’t until 1797 when he returned to Paris that he rebuilt his name as a watchmaker.
An original Abraham-Louis Breguet Souscription pocket watches.
He did so by initiating a new business model, issuing a pocket watch called the Souscription, complete with an advertising pamphlet (an innovation at the time) where the new client would confirm their order by placing a deposit and then paying the remainder on completion. It helped restore the finances of the firm by paying ahead for the parts and labour, along with propelling his reputation to international stardom. In the words of his biographer, George Daniels, “His workshop was the horological wonder of the age.”
With Kissling at the helm, Montres Breguet has been rethought in a matter of months. Once appointed, he spent time in the archives with Emmanuel Breguet, Head of Patrimony, understanding the history and heritage of the brand. The outcome has been a concerted return to the designs, inventions and philosophy of Abraham-Louis Breguet. Choosing a Souscription watch as the first piece for the 250th anniversary emphasises the point. Kissling comments, “This watch is the link between what we wish to share of the history of Breguet and our desire to perpetuate this going forward.“
An original Souscription notice, reproduced from The Art of Breguet, by George Daniels.
The Classique Souscription 2025 is everything that the founder would have wanted from a modern wrist version of his creation. Gone are the straight lugs and the colonnaded fluting around the mid-section, the new 40mm case is more the “savonette” that Abraham-Louis described. The sapphire is domed, and the one-piece construction has rounded edges giving it that “small soap” look and feel in the hand. It is now manufactured from proprietary Breguet gold, that combines gold, silver, copper and palladium.
The dial is classic Abraham-Louis in style. A peerless white fired enamel dial with Breguet numerals and concealed signature. Just enough landscape to be well proportioned and hold the attention of the single hand that rotates once an hour. The secret signature is produced in the same way as the past using a diamond-point pantograph, obtained – fittingly – from George Daniel’s workshop. On the original pocket watch, the signature served to authenticate the work of the Breguet workshops and prevent counterfeiting. The blued steel hand is shaped and coloured by an artisan over a flame in the same manner as two centuries ago.
Left: Side profile of the new Breguet Classique Souscription 2025 showing the domed crystal and case in Breguet gold with rounded edges. Right: The new calibre VS00, in gilded brass with the same shade of Breguet gold.
Visible from the caseback, the movement of the anniversary piece is inspired by the architecture of Abraham-Louis’s watches. Emmanuel Breguet notes, “He [Abraham-Louis] introduced several innovations to the Souscription watch: a new ruby size to optimise lubrication, the definitive shape of the “Pare-chute” shock-absorbing system, a secret signature, and a movement layout that improved repairability.”
The new VS00 calibre is pure Breguet, with the blued overcoiled balance spring, plates and bridges in finely shot-blasted gold, which mimics the frosted finish popular 225 years ago, and blued steel screws. At the centre, the ratchet wheel has an engraved inscription with the founder’s words in his cursive script, explaining the design of the Souscription movement.
Each of the anniversary Souscription 2025 pieces are individually numbered and matched with a purposely designed presentation box.
Each watch is individually numbered and comes in an exclusive presentation box. Single hand wrist wear is a rarity in modern horology, and there are none more unique and elegant than this Breguet Souscription edition.
Author: Andrew Hildreth
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