The Classique collection does its name proud. No other series is as full of timepieces in Breguet's classic style with round cases, narrow soldered lugs, fluted case bands, guilloché dials, and iconic Breguet hands. Abraham-Louis Breguet designed this type of watch hand in 1783. It is exquisite and stands out with its hollow "moon" tip. Other manufacturers may refer to this hand type as "pomme hands" due to its slight resemblance to an apple ("pomme" being the French word for "apple").
Breguet usually outfits watches with guilloché dials with Roman numerals, while those with enamel dials feature stylized Arabic Breguet numerals – another creation of Abraham-Louis Breguet.
Most Classique watches have three hands with the second hand either centrally located or on a small seconds dial. One example of a model with a central second hand is the ref. 5177BB/2Y/9V6. This 38-mm white gold timepiece features a dark blue enamel dial, white Breguet numerals, and a date at 3 o'clock. You can find this watch on Chrono24 for around 19,500 USD. If you'd prefer a timepiece with a small seconds, you should consider the ref. 7147BB/12/9WU. Also made of white gold, this watch is 40 mm in diameter and boasts a hand-guillochéed silvered dial with Roman numerals. Its small seconds sits at 5:30. You can call this timepiece your own for roughly 18,000 USD.
The Classique collection also contains watches with a chronograph function, day-date display, or moon phase. Perhaps the collection's most extraordinary model is the Classique "Hora Mundi." This timepiece can show the time in two time zones at once and, unlike most GMT watches, does so without a fourth hand. Instead, you can switch between two pre-programmed times at the push of a button. You can choose from 24 time zones, with the name of the selected time zone appearing in a window at 6 o'clock. An indicator at 3:30 lets you know if it is day or night in that time zone. A date display at 12 o'clock completes the dial. Breguet couples this display with the time display, so it can change forward or backward as needed.
The most affordable version of the "Hora Mundi" bears the reference number 5727BB/12/9ZU. This white gold watch features a silver-plated guilloché dial and costs roughly 60,000 USD. The platinum ref. 5717PT/US/9ZU boasts a partial world map in the middle of its dial. You can choose whether you want a map of North and South America, Europe and Africa, or Asia and Oceania. This model demands about 12,000 USD more than the gold edition.
The Grand Complications in the Classique Complications Collection
Breguet puts their full watchmaking prowess on display in the Classique Complications collection. Each timepiece in this series comes with grand complications. One especially classic example is the Tourbillon Extra-Plat 5367BR/29/9WU. This watch is only 7.45 mm thick, has a white enamel dial, Breguet hands, and a tourbillon at 5 o'clock. This elegant timepiece requires an investment of roughly 130,000 USD.
Breguet takes things a step further with the Double Tourbillon 5347. As its name implies, the manufacturer outfits this model with two tourbillons. Cutouts in the silver-plated guilloché dial provide a view of these fascinating components at 4 and 10 o'clock. You can purchase the rose gold edition for around 223,000 USD. The platinum version is over twice as expensive at about 452,000 USD.
Fans of perpetual calendars should consider the Classique Complications 3797BR/1E/9WU. The caliber 558QP2 provides this timepiece with a retrograde date display at 12 and subdials for the month and day at 3 and 9 o'clock, respectively. At 6 o'clock, you'll find a tourbillon that also doubles as a small seconds. This 41-mm rose gold watch changes hands for around 129,000 USD. The ref. 3795BR/1E/9WU uses the same technology, but enables the wearer to watch the movement at work thanks to a skeletonized dial. Be sure to have roughly 201,000 USD on hand for this timepiece.
The Classique Complications 5447 outdoes the previously mentioned model, combining a perpetual calendar with a retrograde month, a display for the moon phase and moon age, and a minute repeater. You can find the white gold version for sale on Chrono24 for about 259,000 USD. The same watch in rose gold costs a few thousand dollars less.