Breguet Classique 7147 Grand Feu

Quick specs Breguet Classique 7147 Grand Feu Price: White gold: $ 21,000 | approx. £ 16,000 | approx. €17,900 Rose gold: $ 21,500 | approx. £ 16,400 | approx. € 18,300 Size: 40 mm Reference: 7147BB/29/9WU (white gold) | 7147BR/29/9WU (rose gold)

You can’t go more ‘Breguet’ than with the new Breguet Classique 7147 Grand Feu. The epitome of a dress watch and now with a fresh look. Although it is still available with hobnail motif on the dial, this enamel version looks striking.

A new look with a dial made of ‘Grand Feu’ enamel. For the laymen, a quick enamel ‘starter guide’: It is a craft known since ancient times. This extremely complex ornamental technique used in horology since the Renaissance has remained virtually unchanged from then on.

It is based on a colorless vitreous mixture combined with metallic oxides. The result is subsequently crushed to a powder and humidified to form a paste. The latter is applied in successive layers to a metal disc repeatedly fired in a kiln heated to more than 800 degrees Celsius. This process continues until the dial has attained a radiant whiteness and glowing texture.

The Breguet Classique 7147 Grand Feu comes in white or rose gold

This is combined with the typical Breguet hands (blued steel) and Arabic Breguet numerals. The Breguet Classique 7147 Grand Feu houses in a 40-millimeter 18-carat white or rose gold case. Inside we find Breguet’s caliber 502.3 SD, the same one as the original Classique 7147. It is adorned with ‘Côtes de Genève’ and ‘Clous de Paris’ and most of this can be seen through the sapphire crystal case back. Of course, the small seconds are kind of off-centered, between the 5 and 6 o’clock position.

The Breguet Classique 7147 Grand Feu does a lot with very little. Perhaps, for some it is 1 or 2 millimeters too big to be truly called ‘classic’. Nevertheless, it is still one of the most restrained and meticulous constructed watches in quite a while.