The Breguet Tradition Chronographe Indépendant 7077 is now available with a stunning "Breguet Blue" colour scheme. Full details and price €102,900
In recent years, Breguet has embraced the "Breguet Blue" colour scheme in several timepieces from its Tradition collection, renowned for showcasing the metallic architecture of bridges and gears on the dial side. Notable examples include the Tradition Automatique 7097 and the Quantième Rétrograde 7597.
The latest addition is also one of the most innovative timepieces the Maison has launched in the past decade: the Tradition Chronographe Indépendant 7077.
The key concept behind the development of the Tradition Chronographe Indépendant 7077 was equipping the hand-wound Calibre 580DR with two independent gear trains: one dedicated to the hours and minutes, and the other to the chronograph.
Despite its intricate construction, the symmetrical design of this 44 mm x 14.1 mm white gold model ensures excellent readability.
At 12 o'clock, the hours and minutes are indicated by two rhodium-plated Breguet open-tipped hands on a "Breguet Blue" gold dial, engine-turned by hand with a Clous de Paris pattern, surrounded by white Roman numerals.
Two overlapping arcs are present on this dial: on the left, the chronograph's 20-minute counter, driven by the central chronograph hand; and on the right, the power reserve indicator.
At the bottom of the movement, encircled by a "Breguet Blue" inner bezel and flanked by the two balance wheels at 8 and 4 o'clock, a small rhodium-plated arrow indicates whether the chronograph function is "ON" or "OFF".
The first gear train, responsible for hours and minutes, is regulated by a balance wheel oscillating at a slow frequency of 3 Hz (21,600 vibrations per hour), visible on the right side of the dial beneath the power reserve indicator, which offers a 55-hour reserve.
For the second gear train, Breguet's watchmakers opted for a 5Hz frequency balance in order to ensure a more precise reading of the elapsed time measure. This higher frequency enables the chronograph to time events with exceptional accuracy, down to the tenth of a second.
Preserving symmetry, crucial due to the visible movement components, posed a challenge, as different frequencies typically require balance wheels of varying sizes.
This was resolved by using titanium for the chronograph balance wheel, allowing its lighter weight to match the diameter of the larger Glucydur balance wheel regulating the time.
Instead of using a second barrel, which would have required more space and introduced the complexity of winding both the chronograph and going barrels, Breguet patented an innovative system that stores the energy needed for the chronograph when the left pusher is pressed to reset it.
Two screwed pushers manage the chronograph: the pusher at 4 o’clock starts the timing, while the one at 8 o’clock stops and resets it.
Resetting flexes and arms a specially designed blade spring, which stores sufficient energy to power the chronograph for up to 20 minutes, ideal for short-time measurements. Interestingly, thanks to the independence of the two trains, this energy will always be available, even if the going barrel is fully unwound.
Water resistant to 3 bar and paired with a "Breguet Blue" alligator leather strap secured by a white gold triple-blade folding clasp, the Breguet Tradition Chronographe Indépendant 7077 "Breguet Blue" (ref. 7077BB/GY/9XV) has a retail price of €102,900. breguet.com
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