Breguet Classique 7235 Limited Edition
The new Breguet Classique 7235 takes inspiration from the historic watch No. 5 delivered on 14 March 1794. An outstanding timepiece sold at the time to François Jourgnac Saint-Méard, a literary scholar renowned for his fine writing and was a contemporary of Breguet, the No. 5 watch is currently on display at the Breguet Museum on Place Vendôme in Paris.
The Breguet Classique 7235 is not strictly speaking a reproduction, since the No. 5 was a pocket watch, a fact that entailed adjusting its proportions and creating a dedicated movement for this 250-piece limited edition.
On the dial side, the timepiece echoes most of the complications of the No. 5 watch, as well as their general layout: two central hands, power reserve between 10 and 11 o’clock, moon phase at 2 o’clock and small seconds at 5 o’clock. At Breguet, complications have always been gracefully displayed on dials that are always different yet guided by the same sense of balance.
The small seconds, positioned between V and VI o’clock, is a nod to many of the house’s historical timepieces, on which the small seconds was rarely placed at VI o’clock.
In 2025 Breguet created a new calibre to power the Classique 7235: the 502.3.DRL equipped with a silicon balance-spring. Even before these complications, it is worth noting that this is a self-winding mechanism which is significant, since the 1794 No. 5 watch was also automatic.
Back in the day, this aspect was a technical revolution. A.-L. Breguet is truly the father of the perpétuelle watch, the ancestor of the contemporary self-winding watch. In 1790, the great watchmaker mentioned that he had been “working on it for 25 years”, which suggests that he had already begun to develop it around 1775.
The Breguet Museum currently holds the oldest known “perpétuelle watch”: the Breguet 1/8/82, completed in August 1782 and the only one that can formally attest to Breguet’s precedence in this field. The Classique 7235 now pays him the tribute he so richly deserves.
Calibre 502.3.DRL is remarkable slim, since despite its three additional complications animations (alongside the hours and minutes), it is less than 4 mm thick, at 3.95 mm (for a 32.4 mm diameter).
This thinness is notably made possible by an offset oscillating weight, a layout that opens up space for optimised distribution of the watch’s components, contributing to a case that remains below 10 mm thick, at exactly 9.9 mm.
All of which ensures a perfectly harmonious fit with 39 mm case diameter, the most sought-after size among serious collectors. The curved lugs are the same as those seen on the Souscription watch unveiled at the beginning of 2025.
To mark its 250th anniversary, Manufacture Breguet is steadily unveiling creations that place particular emphasis on finishing. The Classique 7235 is no exception. It is crafted in 18K Breguet gold. The same precious alloy also adorns the dial, which features a hand-guilloché “Quai de l’Horloge” motif, A.-L. Breguet’s historical address in Paris.
The small seconds and power-reserve sector, as well as the dial rim, feature the same pattern, but in a circular rendering, making it easier to tell them apart.
They are separated from the straight guilloché by satin-brushed inserts that give the dial volume and greater clarity. The moon at 2 o’clock is an exact reproduction of the one featured on the N°5 watch of 1794. It is also made of Breguet gold.
All these indications appear on a non-flat surface, since the Classique 7235 has a bevelled dial like that of watch No. 5. It is thinner at the edges than in the centre and while this difference amounts to just four tenths of a millimetre, it is enough to give the dial a slightly sloping profile at the edge of the chapter ring.
This enables a slimmer, lower bezel, ensuring a perfect junction with a spherical sapphire crystal ensuring just the right fit on the caseband. For the first time at Breguet, the case middle is hand-guilloché with the “Quai de l’Horloge” motif, replacing the famous fluting – meaning horizontally rather than vertically.
The large sapphire crystal on the back of the Classique 7235 reveals a bird’s eye view of the entirely hand-engraved movement.
Reserved by the Manufacture for its exceptional timepieces, this treatment offers a view of a so-called “Turgot” map depicting the Quai de l’Horloge, where the maestro’s workshops were located.
Model: Breguet Classique 7235 Limited Edition, Reference 7235BH/02/9V6
Case
18K Breguet gold case
39 mm in diameter
9.9 mm thick
Hand-guilloché “Quai de l’Horloge” middle
Spherical crystal glare-proofed on both sides
Caseback engraved with the inscription “BREGUET 250 YEARS”, anti-reflective on
both sides along with anti-fingerprint coating and glare-proofed
Hand-guilloché caseback with “Quai de l’Horloge” motif
Caseback hand-engraved with 1/250 to 250/250
Water resistance to 3 bar (30 metres)
Dial
18K Breguet gold adorned with guilloché “Quai de l’Horloge” motif
Roman numerals on the chapter ring
Arabic numerals on the moon phase at 2 o’clock, small seconds at 5 o’clock and power reserve at 10:30
Breguet blued steel hours and minutes hands
Blued steel seconds and power-reserve hands
Hand-guilloché Breguet cartouche
Movement
Calibre 502.3.DRL, numbered and signed Breguet, 141/2 lignes, 250 components, 37 jewels
32.4 mm diameter
3.95 mm thick
Self-winding
18K gold Breguet oscillating weight
Frequency 3 Hz (21,600 vibrations per hour)
Flat silicon balance spring and inverted silicon lever escapement
45-hour power reserve
Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds, moon phase, power reserve
Strap
Navy blue large-scaled alligator leather, navy blue small-scaled alligator leather lining
18K Breguet gold pin buckle
Bar tips topped with the Breguet B
Breguet gold weight
51.7 g (Estimate)
Warranty
Five-year international sales warranty
Box
Individually numbered red leather 250th anniversary special edition inspired by the historical red Moroccan leather Breguet presentation boxes
