Breguet Classique Perpetual Calender

In the world of luxury watches, there’s often a tug of war between price and complication. 

The more sophisticated, intricate, and elaborate a movement is, the higher up the monetary ladder a watch will climb. Only the most respected high-horology names even venture to attempt the most complicated movements.

Today’s watch is an anomaly in this convention. No, this piece isn’t made by a little-known boutique manufacturer — it’s made by Breguet, one of the most revered brands in horological history. No, this piece isn’t a simple time-only dress watch — it’s a perpetual calendar executed in an extra-slim package. And yet, this watch trades for significantly less than many watches with a similar complication. In short, it’s proof positive that if you know where to look, you can still find outsized value in the watch world.

A Breguet Classique Perpetual Calendar dating to the 2000s, its 37mm diameter makes it perfect for both men and women. Housed in an 18K yellow gold case with a stepped bezel, a cabochon-style crown, straight lugs, and a sapphire crystal, it features a white guilloché dial with an outer minute track in black, a blued steel ‘Breguet’ handset, a power reserve indicator between 10 and 11 o’clock, a moonphase display between 1 and 2 o’clock, a central month display, a day indicator at 4 o’clock, a date indicator at 6 o’clock, and a leap year indicator at 8 o’clock.

Powered by a self-winding movement, it comes paired to a unique signed, factory-issued black leather strap with an 18K yellow gold pin buckle that includes space for a small calendar adjustment tool. This way, you can handily adjust your watch no matter where you are. (Not that you’d have much need to — a perpetual calendar rarely needs manual adjustment, which is the entire point of the complication!)

If you’re on the hunt for an elegant, complicated calendar watch from a company with several hundred years of watchmaking history, look no further than this beautiful Classique Reference 3310BA!

Few companies are so steeped in history that their name has become a byword for a particular type of product or style. Breguet is one such company: Their famously elegant numerical typeface and matching handset is now de rigueur amongst the most sophisticated dress watches, from Patek Philippe to Longines to, of course, Breguet itself.

However, these numerals and hands are but a single innovation in a long list of horological firsts devised by master watchmaker and inventor Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823), a Neuchatel-born savant whose Parisian career saw the advent of myriad watchmaking creations that we take for granted today. Indeed, it was Breguet who devised the first self-winding watches, as well as the first gongs for repeating watches and the tourbillon. Not many inventors can claim the king and queen of France as patrons, but indeed King Louis XVI and his bride Marie Antoinette were amongst his admirers.

20th-century Breguet is no less storied: The company’s Type 20 pilot’s chronograph issued to the French Aéronautique Militaire in the 1950s provided a benchmark for military watch design. Its stark black dial and utilitarian look belied the sophisticated retour en vol (“flyback”) mechanism within the movement, which allowed a pilot to stop, reset and start the chronograph by depressing the bottom pusher just once.

More recently, under the current management of Mark A. Hayek, modern Breguet has continued to register new patents and amass a dedicated following. The brand’s “Classique” dress watches from the 1990s and 2000s, for example, feature some of the most striking dials in modern watchmaking, making use of guilloché patterns, blue steeled hands and Roman numerals. While the company’s contemporary offerings continue to increase in sophistication and the number of complications available, it’s surely these simple, gorgeous time-only models that best encapsulate the elegant timepieces of A.L. Breguet himself.

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Analog:Shift stands behind the authenticity of our products in perpetuity.

Condition

Since our pieces are vintage or pre-owned, please expect wear & patina from usage and age. Please read each item description and examine all product images.

Warranty

We back each Analog:Shift vintage timepiece with a one-year mechanical warranty from the date of purchase.

International Buyers

Please contact us prior to purchase for additional details on shipping and payment options.

All of our watches include complementary insured shipping within the 50 states.

Most of our products are on hand and will ship directly from our headquarters in New York City. In some cases, watches will be shipped directly from one of our authorized partners.

We generally ship our products via FedEx, fully insured, within 5 business days of purchase. An adult signature is required for receipt of all packages for insurance purposes. Expedited shipping is available at an additional cost. We are also happy to hand deliver your purchase in Manhattan or you may pick it up at our showroom.

Returns must be sent overnight or by priority international delivery, fully insured and paid for by the customer. A restocking fee may apply. Watches must be returned in the same condition as initially shipped.

We welcome international buyers, please contact us prior to purchase for additional details on shipping and payment options.