Classique Tourbillon Sidéral 7255
With the Classique Tourbillon Sidéral 7255 wristwatch Breguet unveils the fourth chapter of its 250th anniversary celebrations. The release date, the 26th of June 2025, is in homage to the 26th of June 1801 when Abraham-Louis Breguet obtained a patent for his invention of the iconic tourbillon. This exclusive watch will have a limited production run of only 50 timepieces.
Variationson a tourbillon
A.-L. Breguet (1747-1823) imagined the tourbillon towards the end of the 18th century, while being careful not to set out its definitive technical aspects. As a perpetual inventor, driven by an unending desire to advance the science of watchmaking, he was aware that he had forged a principle, not a finite, immutable device.
He himself experimented with numerous forms, altering its design, oscillation frequency, speed of rotation or escapement (lever, detent or natural).
Breguet, which signed its watches “Breguet et fils” in the early 1800s, would itself devote more than thirty years to this project. Some forty tourbillons were produced between 1796 and 1829.
Today, by developing its first flying tour- billon, Manufacture Breguet is continuing in the spirit of the great watchmaker A.- L. Breguet by returning to the foundations of the tourbillon to offer a doubly different interpretation: flying and mysterious.
Mastering time throughthe art of the tourbillon
The flying tourbillon is a variant of the traditional tourbillon. Its purpose (to compensate for the effects of gravity on the balance wheel by rotating the cage that houses it) is therefore unchanged. However, it is a much later development: its first creations date back to the early 20th century.
Unlike the traditional tourbillon, the flying tourbillon’s cage is supported only by its lower bridge, without an upper bar. It is thus held solely from below. Elevated above everything, one is captivated by its mesmerizing display.
Its design and construction are more complex, however, since the tourbillon cage is no longer supported by a pivot at the top, only at its base. This means it must be more solidly constructed, better balanced and more finely adjustable than a normal tourbillon. Back in 1801 A.-L. Breguet strove for robustness and precision, more than 200 years later the manufacture that bears his name is still pursuing these objectives.
The tourbillon at the heartof the movement
The Breguet manufacture possesses a unique expertise in tourbillons, inherited since A.-L. Breguet obtained its patent on 7 Messidor Year 9 of the French Republican calendar – i.e., 26 June 1801.
The House has never ceased to explore the infinite variations of this complication, but this is the first time it is presenting a “flying tourbillon” version. This interpretation also features a so called “mysterious” design, a construction that Breguet has mastered for many years.
At that time, mathematician Blaise Pascal broadened the meaning of tourbillon to denote a “material system animated with rotational motion” (1647, Descartes, Principes Philosophiques). Since then, the notion of tourbillon has been extended to planetary systems, hence its direct link to astronomy.
Breguet is part of the scholarly tradition of his century. However, his invention was significantly ahead of its time, because 224 years later the tourbillon remains the subject of countless developments, without its principle ever truly being surpassed.
A mysteriousdesign
Breguet has accentuated the suspended effect of its first flying tourbillon, by adding the mysterious complication.
The mysterious complication consists of imparting a movement to an organ without it being visibly linked to the rest of the movement. It is often used for watch and clock hands, but any rotating organ can be involved, including the tourbillon, as seen on the Classique Tourbillon Sidéral 7255.
Invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1801, the tourbillon remains one of the most complex complications in watchmaking.
Its mastery embodies the technical excellence to which the House of Breguet has remained faithful for more than two centuries.
— Gregory Kissling, CEO
A tributeto astronomy
A.-L. Breguet, born in Neuchâtel on 10 January 1747, set up his own business in 1775. He opened his workshop on the Quai de l’Horloge on the Île de la Cité in Paris, his adopted home.
In the world-famous French capital, the young Breguet studied at the Collège Mazarin with Abbé Marie, an eminent professor of mathematics. The two men would remain friends for decades, instilling in the future watchmaker a keen interest in astronomical studies.
Astronomicalaesthetics
With the new Classique Tourbillon Sidéral 7255 Breguet has, for the first time in its history, chosen to create a dial with aventurine enamel. A tribute to astronomy and the observation of the starry sky, its deep blue is punctuated with sparkling inclusions, shining like the stars that adorn the celestial vault.
The art of aventurine dates back to the early 17th century and has been constantly perfected ever since. For this model, Breguet chose to work it like grand feu enamel.
The Tourbillon Sidéral,decoration
The Classique Tourbillon Sidéral 7255 is crafted in Breguet gold. This proprietary alloy was unveiled during the first chapter of the 250th anniversary celebrations.
Its warm, subtly pink hue is inspired by the gold used by 18th century watchmakers, including Breguet. It is composed of 75% gold, enriched with silver, copper and palladium. Beyond its brilliance, it is distinguished by its resistance to discolouration and its stability over time.
For the first time, the recently unveiled Quai de l’Horloge guilloché is executed not only in a circular pattern on the case back and tourbillon support, but also in a linear fashion across the entire movement main plate. This guilloche motif’s design is inspired by the delicate curves of the river Seine as it flows around the Île de la Cité and the Île Saint-Louis.
This guilloche motif’s design is inspired by the delicate curves of the river Seine as it flows around the Île de la Cité and the Île Saint-Louis.
On the dial side, each piece is adorned with the brand’s secret signatures, complementing the many other traditional Breguet design codes such as the finely fluted case middle, the straight lugs and the Breguet “hollowed apple” hands. On the back, each piece is individually numbered from 1/50 to 50/50.
Mysteriousand flying
