Breguet Tradition 7038 For Women Mechanical Beauty

From over two hundred years of Breguet heritage comes the new edition of the Tradition 7038: a women’s watch adorned with iridescent Tahitian mother-of-pearl and an orange leather strap, reserved exclusively for Breguet boutiques.

With this new Tradition model, Breguet offers a contemporary reinterpretation of an aesthetic conceived by the House’s founder in the late eighteenth century. Visible from the dial, the movement, deep brown in color, takes up the symmetrical architecture of the historic subscription watch. This innovative timepiece design was created by Abraham-Louis Breguet, in Paris, in the wake of the French Revolution, following a long trip to Switzerland during which he had mused on a great number of projects. Mechanical and feminine in equal measure, the Tradition 7038 is easily recognizable by its off-center dial in Tahitian mother- of-pearl, inspired by Breguet’s tact watches. A diamond-set bezel adds sparkle to the creation, which is completed with a striking strap in orange leather. Delicately decorated and powered by a self-winding caliber with a silicon balance spring, the Tradition 7038 watch, which is reserved for Breguet boutiques, brings together the expertise of the House.

Breguet is offering this model reserved for its boutiques only with an original case – an elegant matching orange clutch bag fashioned from grained calfskin leather. Made in Italy in accordance with the great artisanal tradition, it features a clasp that echoes the rosette pattern on the barrel of the Tradition 7038 watch.

Harmonious Symmetry

An ultra-mechanical yet feminine creation, the face of the Tradition 7038 reveals its historically inspired movement. The balance wheel with a hairspring – the oscillating heart of the watch – takes its place between 4 and 5 o’clock under a bridge protected by a pare-chute anti-shock mechanism, invented by Breguet in 1790. Opposite, between 7 and 8 o’clock, the center wheel and its bridge perfectly mirror the Breguet balance wheel, with identical dimensions. In golden hues, the central barrel, decorated with a rosette motif, and the wheels of the movement contrast with the deep brown and finely sandblasted bridges and mainplate.

Breguet hands in gold indicate the hours and minutes on the Tahitian mother-of-pearl dial, which is off-center at 12 o’clock. Its iridescent surface features clous de Paris (hobnailing) guilloche pattern topped with the Breguet inscription and the unique number of the timepiece. A delicate border, engine-turned by hand, outlines the hours chapter marked with Breguet numerals. A fine retrograde hand discretely points to the seconds engraved at 10 o’clock.

The movement of the Tradition 7038 model sits in a rose-gold case, with delicately fluted sides. The bezel set with 68 diamonds highlights the precious aesthetic of the composition, while a cabochon-cut ruby adorns the winding crown. The transparent caseback reveals the reverse side of the self-winding Breguet 505SR caliber. Its gold rotor, embellished with a rosette guilloche motif, echoes the decoration of the barrel on the dial. The welded lugs, which are slightly rounded at the edges, provide a holding place for the orange calfskin leather bracelet.

Inspired by History

The refined aesthetic of the Tradition line is inspired by the design of the subscription caliber created by Breguet in 1796. After two years in Switzerland during the darkest days of the French Revolution, the watchmaker returned to Paris to find his workshops, located on Quai de l’Horloge in Île de la Cité, needed to be rebuilt. In a stroke of genius, Abraham-Louis Breguet, with a reputation for complex timepieces, created the simplest watch ever made: the subscription watch. With a robust construction and a pared-back aesthetic, a single hand indicates both the hours and minutes. The movement is characterized by a centrally positioned barrel, as well as by a symmetrical placement of the balance wheel and the opposite wheel, which are of identical diameters.

Three years later, Breguet brought out his tact watches, including watch no. 611 which was to be acquired by the Empress Joséphine, wife to Napoleon Bonaparte. The timepiece featured a flinqué enamel dial with diamonds set at each hour, and can be viewed at the Breguet Museum in Paris. A subtle evolution from the subscription caliber, a number of these watches featured – along with the external hand – a pared-back dial with only one or two hands. This layout, taken up again in the current Tradition collection, allows both for the time to be read and the movement to be observed.

An Exclusive Clutch Bag

Breguet is offering the Tradition 7038 wristwatch, available exclusively in brand boutiques, with a unique and refined accessory which reimagines the idea of a watchcase. Breguet has called on the services of Italian craftsmen for this handcrafted and tailor-made clutch bag in grained calfskin leather. Its bright orange matches the bracelet of the Tradition 7038 and can be carried by hand, or worn over the shoulder, or across the body. The bag’s round and golden clasp is decorated with a rosette design, a larger version of the engine-turned barrel visible on the dial side of the Tradition 7038, which is barely 10 millimeters in size.

An ode to Abraham-Louis Breguet’s creations, Breguet’s contemporary Tradition 7038 model is inventive and precious in equal measure.