Found: Two Super-Rare, Identical Breguet Watches From The Chaumet Era

June 01, 2017

When I want to see something new, I visit Antoine de Macedo in Paris. I think Antoine knows this too, because hes become very good at finding models that Ive never come across before. Im beginning to wonder if he isnt doing it to remind me of his much greater experience. Finding watches that nobody ever knew existed is kind of his thing. That very strange square Gbelin that sold at auction last month for more than triple what Phillips estimated? He found it. A Breguet triple calendar chronograph from 1952, sold by Christie's last year. Ive got to show you this Breguet, he says right after I walk into this store. Hes already dropped a massive hint, but only because he knows I have a bit of a weakness for Breguet and with just one word, hes got my full attention. And just like that, hes off to the back of the store before weve properly said hello to one another. Must be a Type XX, I tell myself. Hes got an army of beautiful examples. Or maybe a gold calendar wristwatch from the middle of the century. Those are my favorite. No. What he brings back is a very strange tonneau-shaped stainless steel Breguet with a very simple black dial, baton hands and baton indexes. It screams 1970s. It doesn't scream "Breguet." Its from the 1970s, says Antoine, as if to reassure me, and its really rare." It could easily bear another manufacturers signature, and in fact, it reminds me of a Zenith Respirator, but the fact is this is a Breguet. No doubt, this weird tonneau Breguet was definitely born in the 1970s. But then Antoine does something even more surprising and calls over a young man who looks rather familiar to come join us. His name is also Antoine, hes just started his summer internship here and on his left wrist is the exact same Breguet. What are the chances of that! The second example, discovered on the intern's wrist, is one of the very few identical examples of this reference. If theres one decade thats easy to identify when it comes to watch design, its the 1970s. The Swiss watchmaking industry was under threat, Japanese Quartz was forcing mechanical movements on their way out, and manufactures had to lower their production costs to offer anything remotely competitive. For many watchmakers, these are maybe not when they created their finest work (although there is a very real passion for these funky designs, to borrow a term often used by one of my colleagues, who happens to be one of those very passionate collectors). According to Breguet, approximately 20 pieces like this one were made during a short period of time, in the 1970s. Here's 10 percent of them. For Breguet, this period of instability was complicated by a change in ownership in 1970, when the manufacture was acquired by Jacques and Pierre Chaumet. For a while, Breguets reputation was tied to that of the Parisian jeweler. Watches were produced in small series and sold through Chaumets distribution network. The solution wasnt very sophisticated, but it kept Breguet going, and in 1975, the company was handed over to Francois Bodet, the young manager of the Chaumet boutique on Place Vendome. That same year is when this watch sold for the first time. Forty-two years later, and with Breguet in a very different position (thanks to Bodet), the watch is back on the market today, and it feels almost ordinary compared to everything else Breguet made before or after it. But that is exactly what makes it interesting. The only way to truly appreciate this watch is within the context of the 1970s, and other similar models, such as the Respirator, the superior quality and finishing touches such as the chamfered edges of the case become apparent, but where it really outshines others is on the wrist. The dimensions are just spot on. The Breguet signature, arguably one of the most beautiful, is really what makes this watch. Inside the watch is an ETA 2632, not a particularly refined movement, and certainly not what you expect to see underneath the lid of a Breguet wristwatch, but a choice made with due regard to economy and because of this models limited production. A view of the ETA 2632 bauche found inside the watch. Antoine C the retailer C has had the watch for a while now. Hes not bothered by it either. He knows this one will stay with him until someone looks for it hard enough. The chances of it selling to someone with little knowledge of the brand are very slim. Im still not sure how I feel about this watch personally. On the one hand, I must confess that its not a design that particularly speaks to me, and I wouldnt have spent more than a couple of minutes paying it any attention were it not signed by one of the most prestigious manufactures around. On the other, I find its improbability completely fascinating. I find that even more appealing then its rarity. This is perhaps the simplest Breguet watch I've ever worn, but it somehow feels a great deal more special than many others. I can only imagine the kick you might get from wearing one casually around Paris, no one suspecting you of wearing a rare Breguet. According to Emmanuel Breguet, the companys historian and a direct descendant of its founder, Abraham-Louis Breguet, approximately 20 were made, meaning 10% of the total production of these watches is currently spending the best part of the day together, in the same building, in Paris, by complete coincidence. And Emmanuel knows this model well, and not just because its his job to know it. He gave his son, Antoine C the intern we met above C the very same watch, just a couple of years ago.