Breguet was founded in 1775 by Abraham-Louis Breguet. Abraham was a Swiss watchmaker who was born in January of 1747 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Breguet’s father’s died in 1758. Some years later, Abraham’s mother remarried to Joseph Tattet. Tattet came from a family of watchmakers. They moved to Paris where they had a showroom. The family tried to draw Abraham into the trade. Eventually he found interest and in 1762 he was sent to be apprenticed to a Versailles master watchmaker. Abraham studied watchmaking for 10 years under Ferdinand Berthoud and Jean-Antoine Lépine before setting up his own watchmaking business in Paris, France. The business was a success. Breguet made three series of watches, and the highest numbering of the three reached 5120. It is estimated that his shop produced around 17,000 timepieces during Breguet’s life. Because of his minute attention to detail and his constant experimentation, no two Breguet pieces are exactly alike.
His achievements soon attracted a wealthy and influential clientele: Louis XVI and his Queen Marie-Antoinette, Louis XVIII, Napoleon Bonaparte, and the 1st Duke of Wellington to name a few. In 1783, Breguet invented the gong spring for the minute repeater. He also designed the famous open-tipped hands known as “Breguet hands” and Breguet’s Arabic numerals. Later, in 1789, he invented the ratchet key known as the “Breguet key” which allows the escapement to work without oil.
In 1807, he took on his son Louis-Antoine as his partner, renaming the firm “Breguet et Fils” (Breguet and Sons). Louis-Antoine took over the firm upon the death of his father in 1823. After a couple of generations taking over the business, Abraham-Louis’ great-grandson, Louis Antoine (1851-1882) was the last of the Breguet family to run the business. The Breguet company hired English watchmaker Edward Brown to manage the factory. Brown eventually became a partner and, after Breguet’s grandson’s death, the owner and head of the company.
The reference 7800 Classique “La Musicale” watch aroused a great deal of comment when it first came out, because apart from telling the time, it also houses a remarkable patented musical mechanism. Today the Breguet manufacturing company is happy to introduce a new version of this outstanding timepiece.
The Breguet Classique 7800BR/AA/9YV02 is part of the Classique La Musicale collection, introduced in 2013. Inside it is a combination of both traditional techniques such as music boxes, with modern technologies of the 21st century.
Breguet makes use of Liquidmetal, Omega’s proprietary technology – also used here, as both companies are owned by the Swatch group. The special technology was purchased by Omega (via the Swatch Group) years ago for the production of bezels and dials. In the case of the Classique La Musicale 7800, Liquidmetal is used inside of the watch to create a better resonance system for the musical alarm function. Liquidmetal is apparently used in the production of the metal membrane which works with a series of blades that create the music box-style function inside of the watch.
This rose-gold watch is still fitted with Breguet’s self-winding movement with a silicon escapement and balance spring. Yet when the button at 10 o’clock is pressed or when a set time has come, this Classique model plays Badinerie, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach as the final movement of his orchestral suite N°2 in B minor. This has been achieved with a mechanism similar to that of a musical box, except that instead of the traditional cylinder it has a disc with pegs that act successively on the 15 blades of the keyboard. A second innovation amplifies the sound so that the tune can be heard without sacrificing water resistance.
It is an engine-turned membrane in metallic glass fitted under the movement. Constant developments in acoustics at Breguet have enabled the intense research into the materials for the keyboard and membrane that would produce the best sound. The membrane allows the gold caseback to have a number of openings so as to create a Helmholtz resonator to broadcast the sound, while maintaining water resistance at 3 bar (30m). Finally, research progress in magnetism has led to Breguet fitting a magnetic governor for the melody. This patented system, which consists of isolated magnets in a cage, reduces unwanted sound while avoiding the wear found in conventional centrifugal governors. Above all it ensures that the melody proceeds at the right tempo.
The dial features a small alarm module power reserve indicator at 3 and an on/off alarm indicator between 9 and 10 o’clock that displays a musical note when the alarm is set to the on position. To complete the elegant look of this dial, the watch is fitted with the traditional blue anodized Breguet hands for the hours and minutes and a straight hand with a clef at the bottom for the alarm. The dial is diamond-polished by hand to capture the light at different angles.
While the music is playing, the dial, which is connected to the disc of pegs, rotates completely. During the 20 to 25 seconds of music, the engine-turned finishes make the dial come alive in shimmering colours. Furthermore an ingenious blocking system developed by Breguet ensures that there is always enough energy to play the entire tune.
As it did for the previous model, Breguet supplies the reference 7800 with a special box made of resonant wood. The alpine spruce, selected as the ideal tonewood by makers of stringed instruments, acts as a vibrant soundboard. This wood, which is found in the Risoud forest in the Joux Valley where the Breguet company is located, noticeably amplifies the music played in the watch.
As a work of art the “La Musicale” Classique model is in perfect keeping with Breguet’s values of elegant understatement, innovation and advanced methods. In addition, Breguet has been involved for a number of years in musical events such as the Geneva International Music Competition or New York’s Carnegie Hall. This timepiece thus underlines the brand’s connexion with music in particular and European art and culture in general.
La Musicale. Classique wristwatch in 18-carat rose gold chiming “La Badinerie” by J-S. Bach. Self-winding movement. Balance spring, lever and escape wheel in silicon. Rotating platinum-plated dial, hand-engraved on a rose engine. Silvered gold chapter ring. Melody on/off and autonomy indicators. Roman Numerals. Minute markers around the outer rim. Water-resistant to 3 bar (30m). Diameter 48mm.
