Switching It Up: Breguet Classique Dame 806805 December 2022
Breguet is mixing things up in its Classique Dame collection, introducing the 8068 with a quick strap-change feature for the first time. The Breguet Classique Dame 8068, which comes in either a white- or rose-gold case, allows its wearers to quickly and easily change between an array of colourful straps thus transforming the aesthetic of the watch. The Classique collectionMaison Breguet’s Classique collection is all about purity and refinement. As well as being a watchmaker, Abraham-Louis Breguet is also considered to be one of the first designers. When founding the company in 1775, the Baroque style was very much in favour Breguet, however, also introduced neoclassical aesthetics into watchmaking. This is evident within the enduring Classique collection, with its avant-garde style, high readability, and exquisite dial. CaseThe Classique Dame 8068 comes in a either rose or white-gold with the maison’s recognisable fluted caseband. The 30 mm precious metal case and lugs sparkle with no less than 64 brilliant-cut diamonds. In addition, the crown no longer features a blue sapphire, but rather a cabochon diamond. As a result, the watch’s colour scheme can fit harmoniously to any strap option. In addition, the watch is water-resistant to 30 m. DialThe dial is indeed avant-garde in its style, featuring open-tipped pomme hands and a refined central guilloche pattern. The horology house achieves this with the help of a traditional rose engine lathe. Highly feminine in its style, surrounding the elegant timepiece’s central motif is a ring of mother-of-pearl. In addition, signature Breguet numerals display the hours on the chapter ring. Finally, a subtle oval cartouche bearing the brand logo appears at 12 o’clock, adding another traditional touch.MovementPowering the new Classique Dame 8068 is the calibre 537/3. Sparing no attention to detail, it features a platinum oscillating weight, hand-graved on a rose engine with a circular barleycorn pattern. The sapphire crystal caseback also displays other decorations for which Breguet is revered, including chamfering and the C?tes de Gen¨¨ve motif. The rhodium-plated self-winding movement, which beats at a fairly unusual frequency of 3.5 Hz, is endowed with a 45-hour power reserve. Furthermore, it integrates an in-line Swiss lever escapement and a silicon balance spring. Silicon is not only resistant to corrosion and wear, but is also insensitive to the influence of magnetic fields thus improving the precision of the timepiece. Straps with quick-change systemLast but not least, the all-important straps. The Classique Dame 8068 introduces for the first time in the Breguet collections a set of three interchangeable straps in one box. This rapid interchange system allows clients to easily switch from one strap to another without a tool. Simply pressing the pusher located under the strap enables the user to lift up, remove and replace it with one of the two other straps, each fitted with a gold buckle. Meanwhile, the strap options include ‘teal blue’ and ‘Byzantium purple’ for the white-gold version, or ‘peacock blue’ and ‘raspberry pink’ for the rose-gold model. There is also the option of a black satin strap for those wanting a more subtle aesthetic. The price of the Breguet Classique Dame 8068 is 27,200 euros, regardless of precious material...................