Style Edit: Breguet’s Tradition collection puts the movement on show
The most beautiful part of a watch may be the one you weren’t supposed to see – as the Tradition Seconde Rétrograde 7037 and Tradition GMT 7067 prove
The story begins with the Souscription watches that were invented in 1796 and sold, as their name suggests, on a subscription basis. They led to the Tact line, unveiled to the public in 1799, designed to be read by touch (à tact in French) at a time when light sources were in far shorter supply than they are today.
Like those watches, the contemporary pieces that follow in their footsteps invert the usual arrangement of a movement, with the barrel, train and other components sitting on top of the mainplate. That turns them into a feature of the dial, drawing the eye with their offset yet entirely harmonious arrangement, and complementing the minimalist elegance of the traditional watch face that sits above them at 12 o’clock.
The daring choices continue with the finishing: a shotblasted mainplate, satin-brushed bridges and a hand-guillochéd barrel cover. They all sit within a 38mm white gold case, complemented by a blue saddle-stitched rubber strap with light-grey topstitching, as well as the option of a white rubber strap.
A dual-time display replaces the small seconds on another new piece in the collection, the Tradition GMT 7067. The small main dial, which again appears at 12 o’clock, shows the local time, while a second window at 8 o’clock displays the home time. That main dial, in grand feu enamel, is gradated – pine green at the centre and black at the rim, with either Arabic or Chinese numerals in silver. It’s further offset by a day-night indicator at 10 o’clock.
Wrapped in a 40mm platinum case, the watch comes on a black rubber strap with green topstitching.