Héritage 5497

The HÉRITAGE collection hoists its first great complication. The 5497 watch surrenders its tonneau shape to a tourbillon driven by a manually wound movement. 

Leaving aside the mechanism, the timepiece itself boasts a sophisticated design: curved on two axes to fit more than perfectly on the wrist, the case, typical of the collection, presents a recurring challenge to Breguet’s watchmaking craftsmen and engineers. The double camber, which demands great technical mastery, also applies to the dial. The basic Breguet calibre 187 has been modified and truncated to meet the requirements of this piece. 

The HÉRITAGE 5497 watch displays its functions on a costly face wrought in silvered gold. The spectacular play of materials and reliefs puts the tourbillon in perspective, highlights the least detail of styling and emphasises the technicalness of the piece. The chapter ring has been painstakingly cut out and superimposed like delicate lacework on the cambered dial that has been engine-turned by hand. Made of a single piece, the tracery of Roman numerals subtly hugs the contours and intensifies the architecture of the object. The tourbillon bar takes its part in the tableau in the role of the hour marker at 6 o'clock.