Breguet Novely : Expérimentale 1
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Manufacture Breguet announces the creation of a line that will incorporate the latest innovations from its Research and Development department. Named “Expérimentale”, it is initially being introduced through a Marine wristwatch featuring an innovative and daring design. This timepiece crafted in Breguet gold is equipped with the very first high-frequency (10 Hz) tourbillon with a magnetic escapement and delivering constant force to the balance. It is certified by the Breguet hallmark.
The first chapter in the brand’s new exploratory R&D line
While the first timepiece in this new collection marks the final chapter in Manufacture Breguet’s 250th anniversary celebrations, it also represents the first chapter of its future. An inaugural creation whose purpose is to pave the way for the House going forward.
The Expérimentale 1 is not a spontaneous creation, stemming instead from many years of R&D work carried out behind the scenes and that has given rise to the current watches, notably the Classique, Tradition, Marine and Type XX collections.
The Expérimentale programme aims to highlight this R&D shedding light on the entire field of horology through its work on materials, electromagnetism, vibratory mechanics and acoustics. Science in the broadest sense of the term, connecting with design.
Highlighting remembrance
For this first instalment, Breguet has fulfilled two objectives. The first, fundamental goal underpinning all technical endeavours is the quest for precision.
The second is to build a bridge between legacy and the future. This approach is being rolled out as part of the House’s 250th anniversary celebrations. Highlighting the historical significance of the Expérimentale 1 seemed an obvious choice.
These ties with the past are expressed by making this timepiece part of the Marine collection. The aim is to recall that, after his appointment to the Paris Bureau des Longitudes in 1814, A.-L. Breguet was awarded the title of Horloger de la Marine Royale (Watchmaker by appointment to the Royal Navy) by Louis XVIII.
This distinction was the most prestigious a watchmaker could possibly receive, as the very notion of maritime horology required scientific expertise. The Expérimentale 1 represents a continuation of this tradition, showcasing technical breakthroughs that are already shaping the future of Haute Horlogerie.
The quest for precision
On a technical level, the choice of distinctive characteristics contributing to enhanced accuracy was just as obvious. Precision was and remains the driving force behind Breguet’s innovation. It was the reason for almost all the innovations introduced by A.-L. Breguet, a watchmaker who spent his entire life perfecting the art of horology. It should be noted that Breguet filed very few patents during his lifetime, as they were rarely needed at the time. Two of them did however leave an indelible imprint on their era.
The first was filed on 9 March 1798 and related to constant force, while the second registered on 26 June 1801 was intended to protect the tourbillon. Two centuries later, Manufacture Breguet is following in the great watchmaker’s footsteps by pushing these two fundamental areas of endeavour up a further notch on the tourbillon and the constant-force escapement.
Together with the magnetic escapement, they form the heart of the Expérimentale 1. Like A.-L. Breguet’s original creations, its components have been designed to bring real added value to the product. The Expérimentale 1 heralds a new era for watchmaking, in which the Manufacture will showcase the fruits of its watchmaking and scientific research.
Breguet’s first-ever 10 Hz tourbillon with constant-force magnetic escapement
Since the early 2010s, the Manufacture has continued to perfect its mastery of the magnetic field. While this has now been extended to the escapement, its founding principle remains the same: to create a carefully controlled magnetic field and interactions.
This involves two escape-wheels each equipped with a magnetic track, at the centre of which beats a pallet-lever with likewise magnetic pallets. The idea is to take cues from constant-force escapements. Below a certain operating torque, the tourbillon stops very quickly, while above this threshold, the balance oscillates at its maximum amplitude. This new escapement also makes it possible to decouple the impulses transmitted to the balance from the rotation of the escape-wheel and hence from the rest of the gear train. Unlike in a Swiss lever movement, the inertia of the tourbillon cage has almost no influence.
By decoupling these two functions, Breguet has been able to create a tourbillon with a 10 Hz oscillator in such dimensions, also giving free rein to design choices, for example by offsetting its balance from the cage’s centre of rotation.
Technical description of the tourbillon
Compared to most traditional tourbillons operating at 2.5 Hz, this represents a fourfold increase. This 10 Hz frequency is even significantly higher than most classic Swiss lever escapement watches without tourbillons, almost all of which run at 3 or 4 Hz.
The 10 Hz tourbillon with magnetic escapement is therefore more stable and more accurate than most contemporary wristwatches.
The Expérimentale 1 wristwatch is certified by the Breguet hallmark in the “Scientific” category, meaning it has a guaranteed accuracy of +/- 1 second over a 24-hour period.
The construction of the escapement mechanism is also unusual. Between its two escape-wheels equipped with a magnetic track, an intermediate stop wheel ensures that the device does not suffer any unwanted jumps.
Most of the other tourbillon components are non-magnetic, in order to avoid any interaction that could interfere with its smooth running. The balance-spring is made of silicon, the fixed fourth wheel of LIGA (NiP12) and the other components of titanium or nivagauss.
Avant-garde aesthetics
The Expérimentale 1 is housed in a 43.5 mm-diameter Breguet gold case, a size inspired by the standards of the Marine collection. In terms of design, the timepiece is inspired by the pocket watch No. 3448, picking up the latter’s key characteristics with a regulator-style display and symmetrical movement while taking them to a new level by merging front and back. The Expérimentale provides full visibility, thanks to a sapphire dial providing a view of the entire movement.
The regulator-type display features hours at 6 o’clock, offset minutes and seconds on the tourbillon at 12 o’clock. Already tried and tested by A.-L. Breguet back in his day, this layout ensures greater legibility and also contributes to accurate timekeeping.
The Expérimentale 1 also features a patented twin barrel, like the Breguet no. 3448, but this time on two series-coupled levels, each consisting of a double spring separated by a sapphire spacer, arranged on either side of the minutes axis at 3 and 9 o’clock respectively. This double-sprung mechanism serves to optimise energy management in relation to the space available.
Finally, most of the traditional characteristics of a Breguet watch are present: a double-stepped fluted caseband, six close-set lugs – of which two are dedicated to the interchangeability mechanism and the four others are facetted, alternating between sandblasted blued and satin-brushed finishes as well as a blue ALD-treated Breguet gold inlay – blue open-tipped hands enhanced with Super-LumiNova®, a secret signature on the sapphire dial and Breguet numerals.
Above and beyond these features, the aesthetic vocabulary of the Expérimentale 1 has been completely reinvented.
A 21st century creation
The first thing to note is the construction of the solid gold bridges, whose soft curves have given way to sharp angles. Their surface is satin-brushed, while the angles are hand-finished and mirror-polished to accentuate the rigorous geometry of their design. Breguet gold, combined with the navy blue coating, reveals itself in all its complexity with a blend of warmth, brilliance and intensity. The blue hue of the barrel springs is also a first for Breguet.
The sapphire dial rests on four gold pillars. It displays the hours, formed by three linked luminescent circles. The large peripheral minutes track surrounds the chapter ring at 6 o’clock, while the tourbillon appears to escape from its confines, sitting freely at 12 o’clock – two-thirds inside the minutes track and one-third above it.
It is here, directly above the Breguet gold mainplate, that the Manufacture has chosen to place the Expérimentale 1 cartouche, symbolically crowning the entire composition – and more particularly its 10 Hz tourbillon with a constant-force magnetic escapement. The latter consists of a large rounded-off polished bridge, with the small seconds dial resting at its centre.
