Manufacturer: Breguet Year: Circa 1995 Reference No: 3350 Movement No: No. 283 Case No: 3195 C Model Name: Tourbillon Messidor Material: 18K pink gold Calibre: Manual, cal. 558, 21 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Leather Clasp/Buckle: 18K pink gold Breguet pin buckle Dimensions: 35mm Diameter Signed: Case, dial, movement, and buckle signed.
Catalogue Essay
On June 26, 1801, a momentous horological event occurred when Abraham-Louis Breguet was issued a patent for his tourbillon regulator. The history of time has always centered on precision timekeeping, and watchmakers over the centuries have developed means to combat the multitude of factors affecting it, including temperature and magnetism, position and gravity. Breguet sought to minimize gravity’s effects when he observed it greatly influenced the delicate workings of the heart of the watch, the escapement. The tourbillon is a rotating cage within which the escapement is mounted. As it rotates, the positional errors of the movement are averaged out improving the overall precision of the watch. While the patent was issued in 1801, it was not until 1805 that commercialized examples became available, and it has remained over the last 200 years very much the same as when Breguet first revealed it.
One hundred and ninety years later, Breguet’s modern descendants introduced the reference 3350, available in pink, yellow, and white gold. Classically Breguet, the semi-skeletonized dial is wrought from solid silver and hand-guillochéd. The ornate engraving that acts as a backdrop to the tourbillon cage is intricately and meticulously hand-done as well, and is carried over to the finishing on the movement. These details, as well as the Nouvelle Lemania ebauche are the trademarks of Daniel Roth, who was at the time the Master Watchmaker of Breguet working tirelessly to reinvigorate the brand. These timepieces bear the DNA seen later on Roth’s eponymous pieces.
An early example with a warm tone to the dial, and preserved in excellent condition, this Tourbillon Messidor embodies the spirit of traditional watchmaking while giving a nod towards what the future would bring – the rise of the independents.
Established in 1775 by Abraham Louis Breguet, widely considered the greatest watchmaker of all time, the storied brand continues to thrive in the modern era, creating exceptional high-end watches as the Swatch Group's premier prestige brand. Some of the most important and lasting inventions in watchmaking are attributed to Abraham Louis Breguet, including the tourbillon, shock resistance and the use of hammers and gongs employed in nearly all minute repeating watches made since.
Eighteenth and nineteenth century Breguet pocketwatches are especially sought-after by collectors, and many of them were made for the elite of European society, including Napoléon and Marie Antoinette. Key wristwatches from the twentieth century include oversized dress watches, two-register chronographs, triple calendars and Type XX aviator's chronographs made for the French military and civilians.
