Back to the Foundation: Breguet Classique Double Tourbillon 5345 Quai de L'Horloge

Who says you can't go home again? Breguet, the haute horlogerie timepiece manufacturer founded by the visionary 18th-century watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, has built much of its modern collection upon its namesake's historical invention, the tourbillon The Breguet Classique Double Tourbillon 5345 Quai de l'Horloge is unlike any other Breguet tourbillon watch that preceded it and yet in some sense a culmination of all of them Its two-tourbillon movement, connected by a differential device and in spectacular full view behind a sapphire dial, rotates the entire plate in sequence with the passing hours, and its hand-finished array of components - 738 in all, including no fewer than 81 jewels - include mainplates and bridges in solid gold, a Breguet first.

On the rear side of the manually wound Caliber 588N is the painstakingly applied micro-artistry that lends the model its name: a rendering of the "House on the Quai," - the workshop on Paris's Ile de la Cité where Abraham-Louis Breguet plied his trade back in the days when he was providing timepieces to clients like Napoleon Bonaparte and Marie Antoinette - engraved across four golden bridges Interconnected by the differential, these regulating organs perform a double revolution, driving the tourbillon bar that serves as the hours hand - crafted in the classical style of blued Breguet hands In addition to the meticulous hand-guilloché on the back of the gold bridges, depicting the facade of 39 Quai de l'Horloge in Paris, the front view of the movement offers its own signature flourish: both barrel bridges are rounded and shaped into the hallmark Breguet "B" All the parts are straight-grained, chamfered, and satin-brushed by hand, and the gold-etched building facade includes among its artisanal details a window through which the caliber's wheels can be glimpsed.

The Classique Double Tourbillon Quai de l'Horloge is mounted on a strap that is also a bit off the beaten path for über-traditional Breguet: a "Stone"-colored natural slate strap with a rubber base, which fastens the timepiece to the wrist via a triple-folding clasp made of the same platinum as the case. . Source