Introducing Breguet Unveils Its Final 250th-Anniversary Timepiece: Expérimentale 1

Distilling the entire legacy of Abraham-Louis Breguet into a single watch is nearly impossible, yet over the past year the manufacture has surprised collectors with a series of remarkable creations, including one that claimed the Aiguille d’Or at the GPHG. Now, as Breguet concludes the celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the brand’s founding in 1775, it unveils not just a new timepiece but an entirely new line: the “Expérimentale” collection.

The first chapter, Breguet Expérimentale 1, serves as a symbolic bridge between the past and the future. Rooted in the pioneering spirit of Abraham-Louis Breguet, this debut model represents a new R&D platform intended to showcase the full extent of the manufacture’s technical capabilities. At its core is a groundbreaking 10 Hz magnetic constant-force natural escapement paired with a tourbillon, all housed in a newly re-engineered Marine-inspired. 

The star of this watch is its innovative magnetic escapement. Instead of a conventional Swiss lever, Breguet uses two Grade 2 titanium escape wheels fitted with magnetic tracks that rise and fall in strength according to a ramped design. The pallet lever is crafted in nickel-phosphate and uses samarium–cobalt magnets in place of jewels the same alloy found on the escape wheels creating a frictionless natural escapement.

The result is Breguet’s most forward-looking movement to date: a magnetic, true constant-force escapement beating at 72,000 vibrations per hour (10 Hz), making the Expérimentale 1 arguably the ultimate Breguet chronometer. As a limited edition, it also marks the official beginning of the Expérimentale line, which will serve as a testbed for future complications, technologies and aesthetic directions.

Aesthetically, the Expérimentale 1 draws on several strands of Breguet heritage to create a cohesive and contemporary whole. The designers looked to the Marine collection for core stylistic cues, sporty proportions, tightly spaced central lugs, a rubber strap and exceptional legibility enhanced by fully luminescent indications. The piece also echoes the historic Reference 3448, particularly in its dial architecture and overall movement symmetry. Additionally, the watch maintains a symbolic lineage with Reference 1747, created in 1997 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Abraham-Louis Breguet’s birth. Notably, both models employ a regulator display, a nod to their shared ancestry reaching back to Marine Chronometer No. 104—Breguet’s earliest known marine chronometer and the first to feature Arabic numerals, a detail echoed once again on the Expérimentale 1.

The watch is housed in a 43.5 mm Breguet-gold case with a 13.30 mm thickness, featuring hallmark brand signatures: a double-stepped fluted caseband; six sculpted lugs (two integrated with the tool-free strap system); and alternating sandblasted, blued, and satin-brushed surfaces with a blue ALD-treated gold inlay. with water resistance of 100 meters.

A sapphire dial provides full transparency onto the movement, resting on four gold pillars. The regulator display places the hours at 6 o’clock, with offset minutes and the tourbillon-mounted seconds at 12 o’clock, an arrangement already used by Abraham-Louis Breguet for improved precision and readability. Luminescent Breguet numerals, linked hour circles, blue open-tipped hands with Super-LumiNova, and a peripheral minutes track complete the display. The tourbillon itself dramatically breaks through the minutes scale, suspended two-thirds inside and one-third above the chapter ring.

Powering this timepiece is the new manual-winding Caliber 7250, numbered and signed by Breguet, crafted from 18K gold movement blanks and certified with the Breguet hallmark in the Scientific category. The movement guarantees daily precision of ±1 second. Measuring 33.8 mm in diameter and 6.3 mm thick, it comprises 266 components and 37 jewels, and provides resistance to magnetic fields up to 600 gauss. The high-frequency 10 Hz balance uses a flat silicon hairspring and drives a tourbillon made of Grade 5 titanium, whose cage weighs a mere 0.60 grams and consists of 74 components measuring 13.7 mm across and 5.45 mm thick.

A patented twin-barrel system delivers a 72-hour power reserve, echoing that of Breguet No. 3448. Here, the barrels are arranged symmetrically on either side of the minutes axis at 3 and 9 o’clock, each comprising a double spring separated by a sapphire spacer, an architecture that optimizes energy management in the available space.

Above the Breguet-gold mainplate sits the Expérimentale 1 cartouche, positioned to crown the composition and highlight the significance of the 10 Hz constant-force magnetic tourbillon beneath it. A polished bridge supports the small seconds indication at its center, completing this remarkable construction.

The watch is paired with an integrated blue rubber strap and an interchangeable 18K Breguet-gold pin buckle. Limited to 75 pieces, the Breguet Expérimentale 1 is priced at CHF 320,000, equivalent to approximately AED 1,460,250.

For more information, visit Breguet official website.