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Breguet marks 250th year with the single hand Classique Souscription 2025

Breguet marks 250th year with the single hand Classique Souscription 2025

Khaleej Times23-05-2025

Two-and-a-half centuries ago‭, ‬Frenchman Abraham-Louis Breguet‭, ‬considered one of the greatest watchmakers of all time‭, ‬etched his‭ ‬name into the annals of horology with a series of technical triumphs that forever altered timekeeping‭. ‬The tourbillon‭, ‬the gong‭ ‬spring‭, ‬the pare-chute shock protector‭, ‬even the world's first wristwatch‭ ‬—‭ ‬Breguet's inventions were as poetic as they were revolutionary‭. ‬More than just an inventor‭, ‬Breguet was an artist and philosopher of time‭, ‬wielding restraint and elegance in an era known for baroque excess‭. ‬
As Breguet's eponymous house readies itself for its 250th anniversary‭, ‬it pays homage not with pomp or mechanical fireworks‭, ‬but with a watch so pure‭, ‬so quietly audacious‭, ‬it could only have been conceived by the master himself‭. ‬Enter the Classique Souscription 2025‭, ‬a single-hand wristwatch that harks back to the original Souscription timepieces of the late 18th century‭. ‬It is both a resurrection and a revelation‭.‬
The original Souscription watch was born of necessity and genius‭. ‬Returning to post-Revolution Paris in 1795‭, ‬Breguet needed a way to rebuild‭. ‬He conceived a subscription model‭: ‬pay a quarter of the price upfront‭, ‬and a simplified‭, ‬robust timepiece would be made to order‭. ‬Not only was it an early example of direct-to-consumer marketing‭, ‬but it was also the democratisation of haute‭ ‬horlogerie‭. ‬Large in diameter‭, ‬legible in enamel‭, ‬and novel in having a single hand‭, ‬these watches became a touchstone for the collectors and the curious‭.‬
The 2025‭ ‬reinterpretation channels this legacy with finesse‭. ‬The grand feu enamel dial is an ode to purity‭ ‬—‭ ‬crisp‭, ‬radiant‭, ‬and graced by a solitary‭, ‬flame-blue Breguet hand‭, ‬inarguably one of the most recognisable of watch hands‭. ‬The‭ ‬Arabic numerals‭, ‬inclined ever so slightly‭, ‬whisper of another era‭, ‬while the chemin de fer chapter ring brings structure to the‭ ‬minimalism‭. ‬In this unconventional layout‭, ‬time is measured not with to-the-second precision‭, ‬but with elegant approximation‭: ‬the hand sweeps across the dial in 12‭ ‬hours‭, ‬with five-minute intervals marked between the hours‭. ‬Reading the time becomes an act‭ ‬of intuition rather than obsession‭, ‬a quiet ritual for those who embrace time as a fluid presence‭, ‬not a constraint‭. ‬This is not a watch for the hyper-scheduled‭. ‬It is for those who move to a slower rhythm‭, ‬who understand that sometimes‭, ‬not knowing the exact minute is a luxury unto itself‭. ‬It is for the poets and the philosophers‭, ‬the aesthetes and the artisans‭ ‬—‭ ‬for those who savour time‭, ‬not chase it‭.‬
The 40mm case is fashioned from a proprietary 18K‭ ‬'Breguet gold'‭, ‬a warm‭, ‬blush alloy that melds gold‭, ‬silver‭, ‬copper‭, ‬and palladium‭ ‬—‭ ‬a modern interpretation of 18th-century metallurgy‭. ‬Gone is the familiar fluting‭; ‬in its place‭, ‬there are a satin-brushed middle and gracefully curved lugs‭, ‬lending the watch an intimacy with the wrist that's rare for something this steeped in tradition‭. ‬And then there are the secrets on the dial‭ ‬—‭ ‬the almost invisible‭ ‬'Souscription'‭ ‬and serial number engraved in enamel using a diamond-point pantograph‭, ‬a nod to the brand's historic war against counterfeiting‭.‬
As Breguet CEO Gregory Kissling aptly puts it‭, ‬this watch bridges the history the brand wants to share with the future it desires to shape‭. ‬And for Breguet‭, ‬whose‭ ‬'pomme'‭ ‬hands have become icons in the watch world‭, ‬it is a statement that one hand is‭ ‬—‭ ‬and always has been‭ ‬—‭ ‬enough‭.‬

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