Price of Admission: What Are The Least Expensive Breguet Watches?

For those in the know, Breguet is a name in the history of watchmaking that commands instant respect, and even reverence. The brand’s legendary founder, Abraham-Louis Breguet, is rightfully lauded as the inventor of the tourbillon, but his lifetime horological resumé goes far beyond even that: he made the first self-winding movement, the first watch that was wound by a crown rather than a key, the pare-chute shock protection system, and the gong system for repeater watches, among other innovations. His customers included historical figures like King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie-Antoinette, and Napoleon Bonaparte. He even invented a style of hands that many other watchmakers other than Breguet still use today. The modern brand that bears his name is one of the undisputed, upper-echelon Swiss watch maisons, alongside names like Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet, and the jewel in the crown of the Swatch Group. 

All that said and acknowledged, a newcomer to Breguet, especially the prospective owner of his or her first Breguet watch, may find all of this background intimidating. And make no mistake, Breguet is unapologetic in both its embrace of historical renown and its timepieces’ exalted level of luxury. The brand’s modern-day stewards harbor no illusion that they offer anything that would be any aficionado’s “first watch.” The whole concept of “entry level” must be stretched a bit at this venerated tier of watchmaking: like Patek Philippe, A. Lange & Söhne, and the two historical Swiss brands noted previously, Breguet is anything but an “entry-level” brand overall. However, every watch collection, even a Breguet collection, starts somewhere, and our job with this “Price of Admission” series is to find the most approachable watches for an enthusiast looking to delve into a new and exciting marque. As with previous entries in the series, we’ll run them down by collection.

Breguet Marine

Breguet’s Marine collection pays tribute to the marine chronometers that its founder made for the Royal French Navy in the 18th Century. Combining a sporty aesthetic with Breguet’s legendary luxurious detailing, the three-handed, titanium-cased Marine 5517 is the most accessibly priced timepiece in the series, which also contains many precious metal iterations and high complications (including the Hora Mundi, one of the industry’s most impeccable world timers).The 40mm titanium case is meticulously finished, with fluted sides, sculpted lugs, and satin-glossed facets. The sun-brushed dial features applied Roman hour numerals with luminous five-minute markers; in the precious-metal versions, this dial also features a nautical crested-wave pattern. The moon-tipped hands are faceted and polished. Even the movement, Breguet’s automatic Caliber 777A, boasts seafaring visual motifs, like the côtes de Genève texture on the bridges inspired by a ship’s wooden deck, and the rotor shaped like a ship’s steering wheel. The asking price of $19,400, on blue leather or blue rubber, is certainly steep for titanium, a non-precious metal, but it is right in the ballpark of Breguet’s most entry-level models for its collections, and it’s really the elite level of craftsmanship that you’re paying for here. The same model on a titanium bracelet will cost $22,300.

For $400 less, Breguet also offers a version for smaller wrists, with a steel rather than titanium case measuring 38.8mm and containing the in-house automatic Caliber 591A. The Ref. 9517 models, like the 5517 delivered on either a leather or rubber strap, is decidedly feminine in aesthetic, with mother-of-pearl dials and Roman numeral appliqués only at 12, 9, and 6 o’clock, plus a date window at 3 o’clock, for a more minimalist appeal. 

Breguet Type XX

Abraham-Louis Breguet’s great-grandson, Louis-Charles Breguet, branched out a bit from the family’s multi-generational watchmaking business to found Breguet Aviation in 1911. That company, which supplied aircraft to both military and civilian clients, ordered the original Type 20 watch from the Breguet watch firm in 1952, and it is that now-legendary timepiece that inspired the Breguet Type XX collection of luxuriously appointed aviation watches. The modern version, which was called Type 20 until Breguet swapped out the Arabic “20” for the Roman “XX,” debuted in 1995 and grew into a full collection throughout the 2000s and beyond. The Type XX is one of the relatively few Breguet product families that offers some models in steel. The Type XX Ref. 2057 ST and 2067 ST, which both retail for $19,100, are the most attainable models and also the ones that most faithfully evoke the design of the classic 1950s models.  The former, with its black bicompax dial, takes its cues from a specific watch that Breguet delivered to French Aeronavale (air force) pilots from the late ‘50s to the 1980s. The latter, with a tricompax dial incorporating an outsized “big eye” counter at 3 o’clock, re-creates a civilian version of the watch that was sold in the 1950s and ‘60s. 

Both watches’ stainless steel cases are 42mm and 14.1mm thick, with a fluted bezel; the dials’ Arabic numerals and vintage-style hands are coated with a faux-aged luminous substance; and the straps are in leather with visible stitching like the classical aviator straps of yore. Powering both versions of the Type XX is the in-house automatic Caliber 2871, whose built-in chronograph features a flyback function that returns the stopwatch hands instantly to zero and restarts them instantly with a few presses of the plunger-style pushers on the case side. It’s also got an antimagnetic silicon escapement, a super-fast 5Hz frequency, and a 60-hour power reserve. Very few watchmakers tackle the fairly difficult technical feat of producing their own flyback chronograph caliber, so the fact that Breguet keeps these steel models under $20,000 is admirable.

Breguet Classique

As its name implies, Breguet’s Classique collection derives its spirit and aesthetic from the most “classical” of the maison’s timepieces, specifically the early pocketwatches made by Abraham-Louis Breguet in the 18th Century. And while the collection is one of the most expansive in terms of complications offered, the understated Classique Extra-Thin 5157 models speak to many first-time Breguet buyers with their clean, three-handed dials, historically elegant design elements, and notably slim proportions. Available in either yellow gold or white gold, both priced at $22,100, the Classique 5157 has a modest 38mm-diameter case with a very slim 5.4mm thickness. The narrow bezel frames a wide, elegantly appointed dial, with a set of those aforementioned, blued Breguet-style hands; subtle black Roman numerals for the hours; and a hand-engraved hobnail guilloché pattern. 

The movement inside is Breguet’s manufacture Caliber 502.3, with an off-centered solid gold rotor bearing its own eye-catching guilloché finish. In addition to a host of other high-end decorations, including côtes de Genéve on the bridges and mainplate, this self-winding caliber is noteworthy for avant-garde technical details like its magnetic-resistant silicon balance spring. These gold watches in a very unisex size will appeal to many, but for those determined to keep the cost under the imposing $20K threshold, Breguet offers a substantially smaller version, the ladylike Classique 8607 ($18,200), whose 18K yellow gold case measures just 30mm and whose engraved dial is made of mother-of-pearl. As a little bonus, this dainty version of the Classique has a blue cabochon on the gold crown that echoes the blued Breguet hands. 

Breguet Reine de Naples

Did I neglect to mention when listing Abraham-Louis Breguet’s credits that he is also credited with making the first watch designed to be worn on the wrist? He made it for Napoleon’s sister,  Queen Caroline Murat of Naples, another on his roster of royal clients. That watch, known in records as No. 2639 and delivered in 1812, was oval-shaped, with a crown at 4 o’clock and a silver dial hosting elaborately curved Arabic numerals, attached to a wristlet made of hairs and golden threads. Now unfortunately lost to history, Queen Caroline’s watch provided the inspiration and distinctive design for the modern Reine de Naples collection. 

Ladies looking to rock that vintage look for the most minimal cost outlay might want to consider trying to access one of the remaining models of the steel-cased Ref. 8967($20,700), which is currently being phased out and available only through special order. Its ovoid case measures 35mm wide and 9.6mm thick, with a mother-of-pearl dial accented by two large Art Deco-style numerals and blued Breguet hands. Once these references are gone, your entry-level option gets a lot more expensive but also much more luxurious in execution. The rose gold-cased Ref. 8918 (pictured above) has a mother-of-pearl dial adorned with gracefully radiating Arabic numerals; a pear-cut diamond for the 6 o’clock marker; and a bezel, dial flange, and crown fully set with diamonds. The case is 35.6mm x 28.45mm, and just 8.7mm thick, and contains the automatic Caliber 537/3, ticking behind a sapphire exhibition window in the caseback that allows a view of its hand-enraved gold rotor. Be prepared to pay a veritable queen’s ransom for this majestic timepiece: its MSRP is $41,600. 

Breguet Tradition

Interestingly enough, the timepieces in Breguet’s Tradition collection would probably be viewed by most as the least “traditional” in the Swiss manufacture’s portfolio, with their eye-catching openworked designs. The name does have its roots in history, however: the “tradition” to which these eye-catching pieces pay homage is Abraham-Louis Breguet’s pioneering achievements in single-handed “souscription” pocket watches and their successors, the so-called “tact” watches, in the 1790s. Both of these inventions were notable for their off-centered subdials and their arrangement of major movement parts on the front surface of the mainplate. The idea, Breguet has said, is to give the watch’s wearer the same view of the watch as its watchmaker had when he or she was creating it. 

As you might expect, the meticulous work that goes into the Tradition movements and their decorative finishes raises the bar substantially over those of the other product families for the entry-level price. At the ground floor is the Tradition 7057 BR, in a 40mm rose gold case and equipped with the manually wound 507 DR1, for $32,400. The time is displayed on a small subdial at 12 o’clock, hand-engraved on a rose engine; occupying the rest of the watch’s front face are components like the bridges, gear train, escapement, and the pare-chute device in chamfered steel. The movement’s 50-hour power reserve is indicated in analog fashion by a hand sweeping in an arc between 10 and 11 o’clock. 

The Breguet brand turns 250 years old in 2025, and with that milestone comes the inevitable anniversary celebrations and commemorative pieces. If your curiosity is now whetted, and your bank account poised, it could be the perfect time to take those first tentative steps into the Breguet Brigade.