Tom Austin Breguet continues to celebrate its 250th anniversary with a brand new limited edition watch dedicated to world travel, the night sky seen from above, and Breguet’s craftsmanship. The highlight of the Marine Hora Mundi 5555 features a stunning double layer dial featuring hand applied phosphate enamel in urban shapes around the world, and layers featuring guiloch lines that give the dial a spherical illusion. Limited to just 50 items, collectors can personalize their watches by highlighting their personalized cities assigned to a 24-hour time zone.
The world of watches is fantastic, diverse, new brands are constantly appearing, and there are quite a few others around the block. These new brands love to confuse and rock watch boats, but sometimes older dogs love to stretch their legs and show the younger Bucks how it goes. And I have never had the experience of doing that as much as Breguett. This year they are celebrating 250 years in the business of making great watches and so far we have seen some amazing celebratory watches from the brand.
Watches such as Classique Sousscription Or, it helped Second de Rétrograde not only showcases the brand’s watch capabilities, but also reminded collectors of what happened in the previous quarter Millennium. It’s still complete. The latest 250th anniversary watch, the Marine Horamandy 5555, is a perfect demonstration of how Breguet’s watch expertise can be combined with artistic craftsmanship.
For me, Marines have always been a bit of a weird suggestion. It’s like Breguet showed off a sports watch, but I always felt that that very concept seemed misguided. That’s not to take away from watches like beautifully crafted, high-end, gorgeous pieces, such as the Marine Chronograph 5527. Certainly so, but it was never the absolute strength of the brand, so I prefer that Breguet focuses on what they excel. But that’s exactly what we have here in the Marine Corps Hora Mundi 5555. Yes, it’s the Marines, but not as you know. This is not a standard sports watch.
This watch is actually based on the marine holamundiarch technique, with a 43.9mm diameter, 13.8mm thick, with a center-focused lug and grooved central section. It is made from beautifully finished 18K Breguet gold, with slight hints of rose tone tints. I would say it’s not a sports watch, but the Breguet was still able to squeeze water resistant 100 meters from the case. It also has a small crown guard along with a double-domed sapphire crystal coated with reflective coating. But I think it’s part of its beauty and is built to last, but still can look delicately elegant.
Like some watches like this, the more you look, the more amazing it becomes. And of course, the biggest eye-opener of the Hora Mundi 5555 is the dial. I’m calling it In fact, the singular dials are inaccurate. This is because the Hora Mundi features two dials placed above each other, creating an optical illusion that we don’t know what we saw before. Inspired by the view of Earth from space, this watch takes the world travel display to a new level of refinement. The first layer evokes a transition between the sky and the sea with a gold base dial decorated with gradients from sky blue to navy blue. This surface is a hand guillochedo with lines parallel to fine meridians, converging on the four corners of the dial to represent the curvature of the earth from above.
The next layer is a hand-drawn flat sapphire crystal in three phases. First, the continents of the world are enamel painted on the back of the crystal. This is basically done in a mirror image by Breguet craftsmen. As someone who sometimes turns his hands on painting or painting, I can’t tell you how difficult this is. Second, after the first launch, cloud-like features of enamel paint and sky-like are added to the front of the sapphire crystal, bringing realism. And finally, after the second firing, the Breguet artisans bone-sectioned miniature dots of enamel paint, representing the light of cities around the world.
This beautiful dial finish is elegantly interrupted by the watch’s technical features, including applied Roman digit markers, gorgeous 18K Breguet gold hand, 12 o’clock subtle date wheels, and day/night indicators built into the basic layer of the dial. Finally, at 6 o’clock, cities of the world will be displayed for the indicators of the world timer, with certain cities highlighted by the lucky owners of the watch, adding subtle personalizations and helping to remind the wearer of a special place.
Turn the watch over and you will be greeted with an affectionately carved caseback featuring each watch’s individual number up to 50. Naturally, there is a central area made from reflective sapphire crystal, allowing you to see the gorgeous movements inside. The company’s caliber 77F1 is located inside and is the same automatic movement as listed throughout the Holamundi Mountains. Beautifully decorated and has an 18k Breguet gold vibration weight inspired by the boat’s helm, with Gineve finishes and handheld edges.
The movement boasts a 55-hour power reserve and beats at 28,800 VPH using flat silicon balance springs, providing dual preset time zones with day and night indicators and urban world timer displays, along with instant jump mechanisms, synced date functions, while reducing accuracy. It’s a complicated move, but in the typical Breguet method, you won’t be screaming about it. Even seeing it through the caseback at an exhibition, even claiming that you wouldn’t know it’s as complicated as it is, especially considering it’s only 6.13mm
The blue shade of the dial is paired with navy blue crocodile leather straps chosen for its largely defined scale and luxurious atmosphere. It is lined with finer blue crocodile leather and finished with a 18k Breguet Gold three-blade folding clasp. And finally, additional rubber straps are being supplied to remind you that Marines are still sports watches. This is like putting racing stripes on a Rolls-Royce. Hora Mundi of the Marines is born on leather and looks incredible to them.
Breguet Marine Hora Mundi 5555 Price and availability
The Breguet Marine Hora Mundi 5555 is limited to 50 units available directly from Breguet. Price: £89,200, $160,200
Brand Breget Model Hora Mundi 5555 Reference 5555BH/YS/9WW Case Dimensions 43.9mm(D) x 13.8mm(T) Case Material 18K Breguet Gold Water Resistance 100 Meters Crystal(S) Sapphire Front and Back Dial Dual Layer Hand-Enamelled Sapphire with Blue Folding Clasp, Additional Rubber Strap Athletic Caliber 77f1, In-house, Automatic Power Reserve 55 Hours Function Time, Minutes, Seconds, Date, World Timer, Day/Night Indicator Availability Limited to 50 Pieces £89,200
$160,200
