In the presence of CEO, Greg Kissling, Breguet chose London to launch the new Marine Hora Mundi 5555. The United Kingdom’s capital city was chosen because of its association with marine navigation and the Greenwich meridian. The founder of the brand, Abraham-Louis Breguet, was a member of the Bureau des Longitudes and chronometer-maker to the French Navy – the science of horology at the service of navigational excellence.
The new Breguet Marine Hora Mundi 5555 with its two-layer dial depicting Earth at night
The Marine Hora Mundi 5555 is a world timer and a demonstration of what Breguet can achieve when artistry, innovation, and heritage converge. It is the fifth release in its 250th anniversary year, with this watch limited to only 50 pieces. This version of the Hora Mundi differs from the standard model due to its spectacular dial. The lower section features a gold base plate with graduated colouring that transitions from sky blue at the centre to deep navy towards the edges. This is layered over hand-guilloché meridians and parallels to create a curved optical effect that gives the impression of a globe.
The hand-painted sapphire world map in the Breguet Marine Hora Mundi 5555, with settlements shown using phosphorescent enamel, is then placed over the hand-guilloché blued base plate.
Above the gold base plate is a superimposed sapphire disc showing continents in miniature hand painted enamel, including clouds, and, uniquely, a patented and distinct phosphorescent enamelled city lights across the planet inspired by NASA’s “Black Marble” satellite imagery. The watch offers an intimate, nocturnal vision of Earth. The Hora Mundi 5555 is visually compelling, its dial is art in motion, especially at dusk and after dark when the phosphorescent enamel comes to life.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Robert Simmon, using Suomi NPP VIIRS data provided courtesy of Chris Elvidge (NOAA National Geophysical Data Center) © NASA Earth Observatory/Goddard.
Under the dial is the calibre 77F1, an in-house automatic movement with 384 components, 55 hours of power reserve and an escapement made of silicon. Its dual-time function has an instant-jump to the second time zone, programmable via a city disc, with synchronized date. What is so appealing is that the complexity of the instant jump is by a single button.
The Breguet gold case is generously proportioned, measuring 43.9 mm in diameter and 13.8 mm deep. Despite the watch’s decorative complexity, it is water resistant to 100 metres. The sapphire back reveals the 18k gold rotor with the 250th-anniversary“Quai de l’Horloge” guilloche. It comes with a selection of straps, a navy-blue alligator for elegance, or a rubber option for water-based wear.
The caseback of the Breguet Marine Hora Mundi 5555 showing movement and the 250th anniversary inscription.
Although modern in appearance, the Marine is effectively Breguet’s sports line, there is a strong link to the brand’s heritage, with the design cues, the finishing on the movement and the dial, and details like the caseback guilloché, and the use of the new gold alloy. It’s a watch for the collector who values craftsmanship in a “go anywhere” watch and wants more from a world timer. Breguet have managed to combine a celebration of watchmaking as art, and as practical horology, making it one of this year’s most impressive releases. CHF88,000.
Author: Andrew Hildreth
Other exceptional timepieces recently reviewed by I-M Inquisitive Minds include the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Tourbillon Black Enamel, the Ferdinand Berthoud Naissance d’une Montre 3 and the Greubel Forsey Quantième Perpétuel Balancier.
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