The new Répétition Minutes from Breguet has a black dial. End of story? If this were a couple of lines in a general-interest magazine, then yes. But the reader – who in many cases is also a collector – of these pages expects more. Text, but also context. What, then, is the story behind the 7637?
Blue first
Firstly, we have here the return of a complication that appeared in the same Classique collection two years ago with the same reference number (7637), cased in white gold with a blue enamel dial.
This is where the difference lies. This latest iteration has a case in rose gold while the dial is black enamel: the first instance of this combination from Breguet. In fact the very principle of a Breguet minute repeater in a rose gold case is virtually unheard of. The only other example to date pairs this musical complication with a perpetual calendar.
Rare enamel
The enamel dial warrants our full consideration. While not a particularly recent addition to the catalogue – Breguet gave its 7147 (hours, minutes, small seconds) a grand feu enamel dial in March 2017 – it has made only measured appearances. It would be three years before the next iteration (a tourbillon), in 2020, then a further three years before today’s 7637. Three watches, separated by three years, in three colours: white, blue and black. A case of regularity and rarity for the Classique with grand feu enamel dial.
Typecast
The same consistency is evident in the dial font, with identical Arabic numerals on all the models. The more observant will note the minute markers: four tiny stars then a mysterious symbol composed of two dots sandwiched between a triangle and a circle. An identical symbol features on pocket watches by Abraham-Louis Breguet. To the best of our knowledge, it has no secret meaning and is purely ornamental.
Four digits
The four-digit reference, 7637, is used in-house and probably dates back to the 1970s when Breguet belonged to Chaumet. The origins of this numbering system are unclear, although certain equivalences are known. For example, the last “7” indicates an open caseback. Had the back been solid, this would have been a “5”, as in the Reine de Naples 8905.
The right diameter
Which brings us to the 42mm diameter; a maximum that Breguet will, as far as possible, avoid. Although the 7637 isn’t yet available for trying on, experience suggests this is an appropriate size for a minute repeater, for two reasons.
Firstly, for the chimes to be diffused with maximum intensity, a minute repeater requires a large volume (of air, as sound waves travel through a medium such as air), hence a large case. While Breguet has, from distant memory, cased minute repeaters in 36mm diameters, contemporary acoustic and aesthetic standards favour a case size between 40 and 42mm, which is what we have here.
Secondly, Breguet has kept the case height to just 12.25mm. Its proportions are therefore restrained and, importantly, harmonious, and will doubtless be best appreciated on the wrist. As always, Breguet has instilled this minute repeater with subtle balance: light is captured by the black dial and reflected by the rose gold case.
Few and far between
The movement is Calibre 567.2, which is the minute-repeater base movement currently in service at Breguet. It also powered the previous iteration with blue dial, as well as the older version of the 7637 (from 2009), the 7639 (diamond-paved) and even the 5447 Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar (as Calibre 567 RMP, short for Répétition Minute / Perpétuel).
Assembly of this tried and tested movement requires great care and skill. Remember that Breguet employs an in-house specialist specifically to fine-tune the acoustics of its repeater watches. Accordingly, the Classique 7637 Répétition Minutes with rose gold case and black enamel dial will be an infrequent visitor to stores. The main European boutiques, such as those in Paris and Geneva, can expect to see one, at the very most two, between now and year-end. Price is expected to be slightly under €300,000.
