Breguet Tradition Tourbillon Fusée 7047

FROM THE CURATOR

A fascinating fusée-and-chain transmission, the Tradition Tourbillon Fusée 7047 bares its soul in a surprisingly contemporary suit. Unveiled in 2010, the Tourbillon Fusée belongs to Breguet's Tradition family, which is inspired by the sensible design codes of Breguet's historic "subscription watches." The design theory behind the Tradition line of watches is to invert the movement so it can be enjoyed from the dial side. In this case, we're looking at two historic and interacting precision-enhancing devices – a fusée-and-chain transmission and tourbillon – that come to life on the dial against a backstage of contemporary titanium and silicon elements and media-blasted anthracite plates. The 7047 is the ultimate fusion of past and present watchmaking in its purest form.

CONDITION

This Breguet Tradition Tourbillon Fusée 7047 is in excellent condition with no severe signs of wear. While this watch is missing its original papers, it carries with it an original Breguet box and Greenwich Time 2-year warranty. During its quality control check, no issues were found with the fusée chain mechanism or the tourbillion. The caliber 569 performance was in keeping with the original specifications of the watch when it was new.

FEATURES

THE BRAND

Breguet was founded in 1775 by Abraham-Louis Breguet, a Swiss watchmaker born to Huguenot parents in Neuchâtel. He studied watchmaking for ten years under Ferdinand Berthoud and Jean-Antoine Lépine before setting up his own watchmaking business at 51 Quai de l'Horloge on the Île de la Cité in Paris. The dowry that came with his marriage to the daughter of a prosperous French bourgeois provided the backing which allowed him to open his own workshop.

Breguet's connections made during his apprenticeship as a watchmaker and as a student of mathematics helped him to establish his business. Following his introduction to the court, Queen Marie Antoinette grew fascinated by Breguet's unique self-winding watch; Louis XVI bought several of his watches. In 1783 the Swedish count Axel Von Fersen, who was the queen's friend and reputed lover, commissioned a watch from Breguet that was to contain every watch complication known at that time as a gift to Marie Antoinette. The result is Breguet's masterpiece, the Marie-Antoinette pocket watch (Breguet No.160).

The business was a success, and around 1807 Abraham-Louis Breguet took on his son Louis-Antoine as his partner, renaming the firm "Breguet et Fils" (Breguet and Sons). Louis-Antoine took over the firm upon the death of his father in 1823. After Louis-Antoine retired in 1833 (he died in 1858) the business was passed to Abraham-Louis' grandson Louis Clément Francois (1804–1883).

Abraham-Louis' great-grandson Louis Antoine (1851–1882) was the last of the Breguet family to run the business. Although he had two sons and a daughter, they did not enter the business, so the Breguet company hired noted English watchmaker Edward Brown of Clerkenwell to manage the Paris factory. Brown eventually became a partner and, after Breguet's grandson's death, the owner and head of the company. When Brown died in 1895, the firm was taken over by his sons, Edward and Henry. On Edward's retirement in the early 1900s, Henry Brown became the head of the firm.