Introducing The Breguet Classique Tourbillon Returns For The Tourbillon's 225th Anniversary

Today marks 225 years since Abraham-Louis Breguet was first granted his patent on the tourbillon, Breguet’s signature complication that countered gravitational forces on the escapement in pursuit of accuracy. Not one to let a birthday pass by, Breguet have marked the occasion with the reintroduction of the Classique Tourbillon, the first Breguet tourbillon wristwatch, updated for the 21st century.

To duly mark the occasion, alongside the new generation Breguet Classique Tourbillon are three special editions of existing Breguet pieces, each rendered in platinum with some new dials.

The reintroduced Classique Tourbillon 7357 draws design inspiration from the original 1983 Classique Tourbillon 3350, especially with its dial, which is Breguet gold with an electroplated finish featuring a Clous de Paris and barleycorn guilloché pattern. It’s available in both platinum and yellow gold as a series production, non-limited piece. The dial is silvered on the gold version, anthracite on the platinum one, and boasts minute and seconds tracks in case material-matching Breguet gold (rhodium-plated in the platinum version's case) plus blue Breguet numerals and Breguet hands.

Compared to the original Classique Tourbillon, the case design is where we see the biggest changes. It retains the original's 35mm diameter but has abrand new design that draws inspiration from both the 1983 Classique Tourbillon and from last year's Breguet 250th anniversary cases.

For this new release, Breguet has developed a new manually-wound tourbillon calibre, the 187B, equipped with a new anti-magnetic Nivachron balance spring and silicon escapement with a 60-hour power reserve. In tribute, this new movement beats at 2.5hz, the same beat rate used in the original Classique Tourbillon, as well as Abraham-Louis Breguet’s original tourbillons 225 years ago. Finally, its baseplate is adorned with a unique guilloché pattern inspired by the Dent de Vaulion: the iconic peak of Switzerland's Vallée de Joux, the birthplace of Breguet's modern manufacture.

Next up is a new edition of the Tourbillon Sidéral, which was first introduced in January last year as part of Breguet’s 250th anniversary celebrations. It was the first flying tourbillon ever made by Breguet, and this new edition is limited to 50 individually numbered pieces, now cased in platinum and featuring a new dial. The dark blue sparkling night sky dial of the standard edition has been darkened to a black aventurine enamel, yet still features the sparkling night-sky finish over an inky black. A small splash of colour has been added to the applied gold chapter ring - look closely and you’ll spot its pine green tinge.

Its platinum case measures in at 38mm across with a height of 10.2mm, and beating away inside is the 187M1 manually-wound flying tourbillon movement - the same as the previous Classique Tourbillon Sidéral, on display through a sapphire caseback.

We also have a new, highly limited edition of the Breguet Tradition Tourbillon 7047, now with a Bleu de France finish that Breguet reserves for its most special watches. Breguet first debuted this new shade last year as part of their 250th anniversary celebrations on their Classique Répétition Minutes (minute repeater, for those who didn’t take high school French); however, it was paired with a yellow gold case, and now in platinum, it’s a whole new story.

That Bleu de France shade has been applied to the tourbillon bridge as well as the fusée-and-chain bridges, the chain itself, the tourbillon cage and of course the dial, which is enamelled in the rich blue tone over a palladium gold dial plate. We’re not done with blue just yet, though: this new Tradition Tourbillon also introduces a colour never seen before on a Breguet, that lighter-toned glacier blue used on the sandblasted mainplate, also on display through the sapphire caseback alongside a couple more Bleu de France-finished plates.

It’s surprising how different the Bleu de France shade looks when paired with the lighter blue and a white metal case, as opposed to how it looked previously alongside yellow gold. It’s all tied together with a blue rubber strap and contrast glacier blue stitching, nicely dressing down the overall look of this incredibly complex and traditional watch. It’s limited to just 25 individually numbered pieces.

The Marine Tourbillon Équation Marchante is the most mechanically complicated Breguet in the current collection, making it a natural choice of watch to celebrate 225 years of a master complication. This new edition of the Marine Tourbillon Équation Marchante 5887 is limited to just 25 individually numbered pieces, fitted with an astounding customisable dial.

It’s composed of two parts, the above a transparent dial with applied Breguet numerals and the retrograde date display, though beneath it sits a blue sapphire dial featuring a handpainted miniature map of the night sky above Paris, including the constellations and moon, in the positions they appeared in on the night of June 26th 1801 - the day Abraham-Louis Breguet was granted the patent for his tourbillon complication. Buyers will be given the choice of either this historic night sky depiction on the dial or the sky corresponding to any date and location of their choice.

Turning the watch over, you’ll see a very unusual movement backplate through the sapphire caseback, featuring a hand-engraved depiction of the Royal Louis French Navy ship, newly finished in Breguet gold. As not to obstruct this detailed engraving, the automatic rotor is in place at the movement's periphery. 

It’s cased in platinum at 43.9mm and is fitted to either a blue rubber strap or an optional platinum bracelet featuring the thicker centre-link Breguet Marine bracelet design. Fitted to the platinum bracelet, the entire package weighs in at a hefty 257 grams!

Has Breguet done the tourbillon justice on its birthday? Absolutely. The brand is coming off the back of arguably its strongest year ever in 2025, with the release of the revolutionary Expérimentale 1, a GPHG win for their Classique Souscription and a litany of new releases to mark their 250th birthday. However, Breguet has managed to keep its proverbial foot flat to the floor for the 225th anniversary of the tourbillon, and that dedication is paying off.

I can see this capsule's headline release, the revived Classique Tourbillon, being a particular hit, as it's launching right at a time when appreciation for Breguet’s neo-vintage classics is at an all-time high. The case dimensions are what immediately caught my eye, measuring in on the smaller size at 35mm across, 9.2mm thick, and with a lug-to-lug of 43mm. In diameter, it’s bang on to the original Classique Troubillon 3350 from 1986, which featured a case with sharp lugs similar to the ones you’ll find on the Classique Tourbillon Sidéral. The new Classique Tourbillon case features more smoothly integrated lugs, greatly modernising the design.

There’s some slight variation in guilloché dial colours between the platinum and gold models - the platinum's anthracite dial being slightly darker, though both are supremely well balanced in both colour and proportion. It’s also exciting to see these two references introduced in the permanent collection; you can expect them to be very popular.

The launch of the Classique Tourbillon Sidéral 7255 exactly one year ago today was one of the standout releases of an incredibly successful year for Breguet. The brand's first flying tourbillon, it also creates a mystery effect by suspending the escapement on a sapphire disc, and this new edition is a fantastic accompaniment to the existing yellow gold reference. The applied rhodium-plated 18ct gold “Breguet” and “tourbillon” signatures on the dial pop even more against the black dial, and the pine green shading to the applied chapter ring ties it back to the Tradition GMT 7067 released in May.

Taking a look at the Tradition Tourbillon, I really like the juxtaposition of the seriousness and complexity of a fusée-and-chain constant force tourbillon movement with the bright blue mainplate and blue rubber strap. Notably, on this reference, the attention to detail goes as far as replacing the red jewel on the tourbillon bar with a blue spinel to make the dial as chromatically consistent as possible. Casing all of these limited pieces in platinum is the perfect way to celebrate the tourbillon, and the way the white metal interplays with the Bleu de France colour changes the feeling of these models from serious to celebratory - it’s a brilliant victory lap for Breguet.

Brand: Breguet
Models: Classique Tourbillon 7357, Classique Tourbillon Sidéral 7255, Tradition Tourbillon 7047, Marine Tourbillon Équation Marchante 5887
Reference Numbers: 7357PT/1A/386, 7357BH/1H/386, 7255PT/2N/9VU, 7047PT/YY/5ZU SL, 5887PT/YS/5WV SL, 5887PT/YS/PW0 SL
Diameter: 35mm (7357 references), 38mm (7255), 41mm (7047), 43.9mm (5887)
Thickness: 9.2mm (7357), 10.2mm (7255), 16mm (7047), 11.8mm (5887)
Case Material: 950 platinum for all, 7357 additionally available in Breguet gold
Dial Colour: Anthracite or silver (7357), black aventurine Grand Feu enamel with green highlights (7255), Grand Feu Bleu de France enamel (7047), blue-gradient and translucent Grand Feu enamelled sapphire with hand-painted miniatures in luminescent enamel (5887)
Lume: Only on 5887
Water Resistance: 30m (7357, 7255 and 7047), 100m (5887)
Strap/Bracelet: Calfskin (7357), alligator (7255), rubber (7047), rubber or platinum bracelet (5887)

Calibre: 187B (7357), 187M1 (7255), 569 (7047), 581DPE (5887), all in-house
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds on tourbillon cage (all), power reserve (7047 and 5887), perpetual calendar, running equation of time (5887 only)
Power Reserve: 60 hours (7357), 50 hours (7255), 55 hours (7047), 80 hours (5887)
Winding: Manual (7357, 7255 and 7047), automatic (5887)
Frequency: 2.5 Hz (7357, 7255 and 7047) 4 Hz (5887)
Jewels: 21 (7357), 23 (7255), 43 (7047), 57 (5887)
Chronometer Certified: No for all

Price: A$254,800 (7357 in Breguet gold), A$280,300 (7357 in platinum), A$405,900 (7255), A$448,300 (7047), A$532,000 (5887 on rubber), A$674,700 (5887 on bracelet)
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: No (7357), 50 pieces (7255), 25 pieces (7047 and 5887)

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