Swiss watchmaker Breguet has added a new model to its Marine collection, the Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577 — celebrating over 220 years of the tourbillon invention, the timepiece is designed to marry aesthetic charm with high-level horology and is expressed in two different variants, Rose Gold or Platinum.
The tourbillon, an invention created by Breguet’s founder, Abraham-Louis Breguet, in 1801, addressed the challenge posed by Earth’s gravity on the regularity of watch movements. Designed to counter the variations in rate due to gravitational pull, the tourbillon achieved this by placing the entire escapement within a mobile carriage, completing one rotation every minute. This ensured that any errors in the timekeeping were consistently negated, emphasizing the tourbillon’s brilliance and Breguet’s innovation.
Breguet’s latest Marine example features a 42.5 mm case diameter and a slim profile at just 3 mm thick, the Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577 houses the self-winding Calibre 581 — the watch’s thinness can be attributed to the peripheral rotor design. Additionally, it boasts a frequency of 4 Hertz and an enviable power reserve of 80 hours. The calibre features a carriage and balance spring made of silicon, ensuring resistance against wear, corrosion and magnetic fields.
The sunburst dial, a key feature of the 5577 model, comes in slate grey for the rose gold variant and navy blue for the platinum version. A luminescent chapter ring, hour markers and the signature open-tipped gold Breguet hands further enhance the piece. However, the main attraction of the watch is the tourbillon, positioned at 5 o’clock, making a full rotation in just 60 seconds.
As an additional nod to its rich heritage, the sapphire case-back reveals the intricately designed movement, as well as the barrel drum sporting a compass rose, complemented by other typical Marine line decorations. Other details include a brown rubber or alligator leather strap available with the rose gold model or a midnight blue rubber or alligator leather strap available with the platinum timepiece.
Price and availability has not been announced at the time of writing, however, Breguet does have a “make an appointment” call to action on its official site. While Breguet offers a number of different complex horological mechanisms, the tourbillon is arguably its signature complication, as it was first invented in 1801 by Abraham-Louis Breguet himself. Over the years, the tourbillon has often played a central role in Breguet’s catalog, and for 2023, the historic Swiss watch manufacturer has created two new tourbillon pieces that will be joining its Marine collection of sports watches. Available in either platinum or rose gold, the new Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577 is offered with either rubber or leather straps, and it is powered by an extra-thin, peripheral rotor movement with silicon components and a one-minute tourbillon.
The new Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577 is available in either 18k rose gold as the reference 5577BR/G2/5WV or in 950 platinum as the reference 5577PT/Y2/5WV. While the rose gold version is fitted with a slate gray dial and offered with the option of brown leather or rubber straps, the platinum version of the model receives a blue dial, and it is paired with leather or rubber straps in a matching shade of dark blue. Additionally, both strap options for the Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577 are completed by deployant clasps in either rose gold or platinum to match their respective cases. As for the case itself, the new Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577 measures 42.5mm in diameter by 9.35mm thick, and it features a thin fixed bezel, a small set of crown guards, and the collection’s characteristic three-prong lugs extending from either end of the case. Sapphire crystals are fitted to both the dial side of the watch and its screw-on caseback, while the signed screw-down crown at 3 o’clock helps support its 100 meters of water resistance. Like all Breguet Marine watches, the collection’s signature case design offers an inherently sporty overall appearance, and this remains true, even when the watch is fitted with a tourbillon and an elegant off-center dial with Roman numeral hour markers. As for the dial of the new Breguet Marine Tourbillon 5577, the tourbillon itself is placed asymmetrically at the 5 o’clock location, although the entire dial and handset are slightly offset in the opposite direction to allow more space for the tourbillon. Since the case profile is round, the offset dial effect is subtle, although it results in a significantly more visually engaging design than if the brand had created a standard symmetrical dial. While symmetry is often a virtue in watchmaking, the offset dial is a very welcome feature in my personal opinion, as this is a solid gold (or platinum) timepiece from one of Switzerland’s premier manufacturers, and it features the brand’s signature high-horology complication.
