Breguet’s Type XX was delivered to the pilots of French naval forces beginning in the mid-1950s. Commissioned by the French Ministry of Defense, they sought a multipurpose chronograph wristwatch with flyback function, which allowed the pilot to quickly reset and restart the chronograph instantaneously to aide in navigation. The “type” designation was not a specific model name for a particular brand, but rather it was the project code used by the French Ministry of Defense to define the specifications, which were presented to several watch brands including Breguet. These included a black dial with easily readable Arabic luminous numerals, a 38mm diameter case with screw back for water-resistance, a bi-directional rotating bezel and accuracy to within eight seconds a day. Breguet’s “Type XX” became the best known of these military chronograph watches.

Breguet’s Type XX was produced either in a military or a civilian version over the course of its history. To maximize the legibility of the military-issued watches, the dial did not display any information such as the brand or the model name. Only the caseback was engraved with Breguet, Type 20, 5101/54 and then further engraved with FG and a date. Interestingly, the caseback of this watch bears a large number of these inscriptions starting with FG which stands for “Fin de Garantie”: end of guarantee in French. These engraving were made by the watchmaker that would have serviced the watch to inform the pilot when he should have his watch serviced next.

Its original, matte black dial is a wonderful canvas for the luminous Arabic hour markers that have turned to an elegant light brown color. This lovely Type XX is being sold to benefit The Institute for Digital Archaeology, a non-profit organization promoting digital techniques in archaeology, epigraphy, art history, and museum conservation. It is a must have timepiece for any savvy collector.