GUTTER CREDITSThe GoodsWATCHES
Clear
Cut
All the skinny on
Breguet’s new 581 Caliber.
at j u s t 7.7 mm thick, Breguet’s new
41 mm Classique Tourbillon Extra-
Plat Squelette 5395 (from $225,200;
breguet.com) may be flat enough to fit
underneath your shirt cuff, but that
doesn’t mean it’s lean on features.
The interior 18-karat-gold tourbillon
Caliber 581 movement still manages
to pack in all the technical and
artisanal fireworks you’d expect from
Breguet, only this version—an update
to the movement previously used in the
Tourbillon Extra-Plat 5367 and 5377—
has been skeletonized to show off a
new visual architecture that removes
half the material.
That’s some serious handiwork (in
less adept hands, such a move might
damage the function of the movement),
but the new Classique is more than just
the 581 on a diet. The tourbillon itself,
which Breguet invented more than 200
years ago, has been redesigned, too—
this time with a titanium carriage that
engages with the wheel train instead
of a pinion at its base. The silicon
escapement has also been slightly
angled to save on space, and topping off
the technical feats is a Clous de Paris
hobnail design created with a diamond-
tipped guilloche tool—an excruciatingly
meticulous task with no room for error.
The new release is no small
achievement, however slender it
may be. Due to the intricacy of their
construction and the absence of a
dial surface, skeleton watches have a
bit of a reputation for illegible time.
Thankfully, Breguet’s famous moon-
tipped blue hands—an invention dating
back to 1783—offer readability without
overpowering the craftsmanship of the
movement. Paige Reddinger48 AUGUST 2019
The GoodsWATCHE
Clear
Cut
All the skinny on
Breguet’s new 581 Caliber.
at j u s t 7.7 mm thick, Breguet’s new
41 mm Classique Tourbillon Extra-
Plat Squelette 5395 (from $225,200;
breguet.com) may be flat enough to fit
underneath your shirt cuff, but that
doesn’t mean it’s lean on features.
The interior 18-karat-gold tourbillon
Caliber 581 movement still manages
to pack in all the technical and
artisanal fireworks you’d expect from
Breguet, only this version—an update
to the movement previously used in the
Tourbillon Extra-Plat 5367 and 5377—
has been skeletonized to show off a
new visual architecture that removes
half the material.
That’s some serious handiwork (in
less adept hands, such a move might
damage the function of the movement),
but the new Classique is more than just
the 581 on a diet. The tourbillon itself,
which Breguet invented more than 200
years ago, has been redesigned, too—
this time with a titanium carriage that
engages with the wheel train instead
of a pinion at its base. The silicon
escapement has also been slightly
angled to save on space, and topping off
the technical feats is a Clous de Paris
hobnail design created with a diamond-
tipped guilloche tool—an excruciatingly
meticulous task with no room for error.
The new release is no small
achievement, however slender it
may be. Due to the intricacy of their
construction and the absence of a
dial surface, skeleton watches have a
bit of a reputation for illegible time.
Thankfully, Breguet’s famous moon-
tipped blue hands—an invention dating
back to 1783—offer readability without
overpowering the craftsmanship of the
movement. Paige Reddinger48 AUGUST 2019