Breguet Classique 7147 & Classique Hora Mundi 5727 Watches

Of the thousands of watches shown at Baselworld, literally nothing looks quite like a Breguet. That is especially so when it comes to the brands visually distinct Classique collection which marries the technical complexity of Breguets modern movement capability with incredibly ornate, hand-engraved motifs inspired by many of the decorative codes that were once used in the earliest days of watchmaking. Two new models have just joined the Breguet Classique stable: the three-hand Breguet Classique 7147, and a refresh to the award-winning, time zone-jumping Breguet Classique Hora Mundi 5727.Now, if youre just looking to dip a toe into the world of Breguets exceptional hand-finishing, the Breguet Classique 7147 might be the best place to start, as it uses many of the same impressive signatures as others in the collection, at a more attainable price. Here, youll find the textured Clous De Paris or hobnail finishing throughout the center dial, and a cross-woven small seconds subdial at 5:00-both of which neatly contrast the beautiful heat-blued pomme hands which, nowadays, are more collectively referred to as Breguet hands due to their invention by Abraham-Louis Breguet in the late 1700s. Beneath the dial, the Breguet Classique 7147 is no slouch either-powered by Breguets in-house-developed Cal. 502.3SD-an extra-thin 2.4mm movement which carries a number of modern flourishes like a silicon balance spring and lever escapement with silicon pallets. This movement has an operating frequency of 3Hz and affords a power reserve of 45 hours.Available in both rose gold or white gold, the 40mm case itself also carries some very nice detailing, like fluting in the caseband and vintage-inspired, welded lugs with screwed bars which complete the look. Granted, 40mm is arguably quite large for a watch of this design intent, but it also reflects a commitment of sorts-like the movement within the watch to not only honor the past, but to embrace the future of watchmaking as well.However, the real star of the 2016 Breguet Classique additions would have to be the Breguet Classique Hora Mundi 5727-successor to 2011s award-winning Breguet Hora Mundi that took home a truckload of top prizes for its impressive technical achievement. The Breguet Classique Hora Mundi was, and still is, unique in that it was the first mechanical watch with an instant-jump time zone display that synchronized all the other indicators on the dial-including the date, 24-hour indicator, and city indications, all at the push of a button at the 8:00 position on the 43mm white gold case. This time around, though, the Breguet Classique Hora Mundi 5727 forgoes the North America map motif on the dial in favor of much of the same case detailing and white gold dial finishing on the Breguet Classique 7147-ultra-classic design language that many fans could probably agree feels yet more Breguet, if that were even possible. Obviously, the biggest differences with this watch lie in its Cal. 77F0 movement, which enables the wearer to simultaneously jump four different functions at once, ensuring a perfect synch between home time and another time zone anywhere in the world. The Cal. 77F0 operates at 4Hz and has a power reserve of 55 hours.The more affordable Breguet Classique 7147 has a price of $21,000 in rose gold and $21,500?in white gold. The Breguet Classique Hora Mundi 5727 is $68,600 in rose gold and $69,100 in white gold.?breguet.com [...]