Breguet Type XXI

The Breguet Type XXI unveiled in 2004 from Breguet marks the 50th anniversary of its predecessor the Type XX retour-en-vol-chronograph. Founder A.-L. Breguet (1747-1823) had his timepieces highly sought after in the french militaries in the early 1800s, and it naturally followed that in the 1950s, the Type XX was designed for the French naval air arm.

Its reputation for being exceptionally reliable soon won over many fans, and with the Type XXI, the story is no different save for two new features: a central minutes counter and a 24-hour hand. The minutes are mounted with the seconds on a full 60-minute scale, enabling the 3o'clock subdial to have a 24-hour hand. The chronograph retains the previous retour-en-vol feature, enabling resetting of the chronograph by depressing one button instead of the usual two.

This watch is powered by the automatic Breguet Caliber 584 Q with 25 jewels that vibrate at 28,800 times per hour. The sophisticated stainless steel case is 42mm in diameter and has a height of 15.2mm. It features a bidirectionally rotating bezel with 60-minute divisions. The face is made of scratch resistant sapphire crystal, with the case being equipped with a screw-down crown. Water-resistance is to 10 atm. The main functions are hours, minutes, subsidiary seconds; chronograph with flyback function; 24-hour display; and date at 6.

Readability of this timepiece is enhanced by the brown rhodium dial contrasted with luminous hands and Arabic numerals. The Type XXI can be teamed with either a brown reptile skin strap of a stainless steel bracelet, with the option of a red gold casing.

Breguet