The New Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat 5367PT Blue Enamel

Ultra-thin, automatic, equipped with innovative features and still minimalistic in its design… Breguet‘s Tourbillon Extra-Plat is certainly one of the best watches in its current collection. Launched in 2013 with a guilloché dial as the 5377, this watch also introduced a new movement, one of the thinnest tourbillon calibres on the market. It was followed by a sleek and attractive white enamel model, and recently by a stunning skeleton model. Today, the brand presents a new edition, with a striking blue enamel dial and platinum case. Meet the Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat 5367PT Blue “Grand Feu” Enamel.

Background

Abraham-Louis Breguet, as most of you might know, was the inventor of the tourbillon regulator – this small but complex device that aims at negating the effect of gravity on the regulating organ by placing it in a cage in constant rotation. It is no surprise then that the brand continues to explore this mechanical device and to propose innovative watches featuring the tourbillon.

One of the most recent Breguet watches featuring a tourbillon was introduced at Baselworld 2013, under the name Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Blue 5377. First launched in rose gold, followed in 2014 by a platinum version, this edition featured a silvered gold guilloché dial (a signature style for Breguet) as well as a power reserve indicator. It also featured a new movement, the Calibre 581. While the tourbillon commands centre stage, there’s a lot more to this movement that needs to be revealed – a peripheral self-winding mechanism, a fast-beating regulator, innovative materials… But we’ll look at that later.

In 2018, prior to Baselworld, Breguet launched the second version of its self-winding, ultra-thin tourbillon under the reference 5367. If technically almost identical, the main difference came from the dial, now executed in white “Grand Feu” enamel. It is standard practice for Breguet to offer both guilloché and enamel versions of the same watch, and this model was no exception. Visually though, the 5367 was a rather different piece, with a much sleeker dial, the absence of the power reserve and typical “Breguet numerals” in lieu of the Roman numerals.

Last year, Breguet launched the third version of this watch based on the Calibre 581, this time entirely skeletonized by hand, with an insane level of Haute-Horlogerie decoration. Certainly less in the “Breguet tradition”, the ref. 5395 remains one of the most impressive watches launched by the brand in recent years, technically-speaking.

The new Blue Enamel/Platinum ref. 5367PT

In 2020, Breguet adds deep blue enamel and platinum to its Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat to create an exclusive watch only available at official boutiques. This has become sort of a tradition now for Breguet to add a blue enamel version of some of its watches and retail them as boutique-exclusive. This was the case with the Classique 5175 “Ginza Anniversary” in 2017 and the Classique 5177 Grand Feu Blue Enamel in 2019. But today, this is quite a different watch that receives the blue treatment.

Compared to the white enamel ref. 5367, no differences can be spotted here. This edition only differs by its dial… but what a dial it is. Grand Feu enamel is one of those rare and fine crafts that Breguet still performs internally. The dial starts life as a white gold blank. After going through stages of grinding and cleaning, the enamel is applied with a brush to the gold surface while still wet, in a thin and consistent layer. It is then heated in a furnace at a temperature higher than 800°C. The final result is obtained by adding layer after layer of enamel until the desired colour is achieved.

For this new Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat 5367PT, the colour is a blend of blue nuances. The final step consists of gentle polishing before the dial is placed in the furnace one last time to provide it with its natural sheen. The dial’s gold elements are then bevelled in a workshop dedicated to this revered craft. Then the different indicators, including the signature Breguet numerals, are applied on the dial, in powdered silver.

So what is the result in the metal? Well, first of all, the surface of the dial itself isn’t flat and has some depth. For instance, the dial sits lower around the hands’ axle or next to the tourbillon aperture, which adds to the complexity of polishing the dial. Then, the straight tourbillon bridge has to be fitted, meaning that the dial needs to be cut – and that is, by no means, an easy task on Grand Feu enamel. The attention to detail is impressive throughout.

The dial of the Tourbillon Extra-Plat 5367PT is also impressive in the way it changes colour. In certain conditions, it will absorb ambient light and comes across as almost pitch black. Moving it a bit and it will reflect the light and change to a translucent, bright blue colour. In any case, the contrast with the silvered numerals and the polished gold Breguet hands is perfect and the watch remains extremely discreet.

To match with the cold colour of the blue Grand Feu enamel, Breguet opts for a platinum case. Other than the material, the case is identical to other editions, with a 41mm diameter, elongated welded lugs with screw-secured bars, polished surfaces and the signature fluted pattern on the caseband. The watch is thin, with a slender 7.45mm profile. It is worn on a dark blue alligator strap with a platinum triple-folding buckle.

Inside this platinum case, the Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat 5367PT relies on the Calibre 581, an ultra-thin, automatic, tourbillon movement manufactured and decorated in-house. It is a large movement that entirely fills the case – 36mm in diameter – but also a very thin engine that is no thicker than 3mm. To keep its profile as low as possible, the brand relies on peripheral technology for the self-winding mechanism, where the oscillating mass is placed on the periphery of the movement – instead of covering it. Moving to the tourbillon, Breguet also plays on modernity, with a titanium carriage (lighter and more efficient) and a high-frequency motion, at 28,800 vibrations/hours. The escapement and the balance spring are made of silicon. The power reserve is comfortable, at 80 hours.

While the 5367PT is minimalist and discreet on the outside, the decoration of this Calibre 581 is the total opposite. The movement is richly decorated, with its bridges and barrel engraved by hand. Other traditional decoration techniques are, of course, present with bevelled and polished angles, polished countersinks, anglages…

Price and availability

The Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Bleu Enamel and Platinum (ref. 5367PT/2Y/9WU) is not a limited edition but it will remain a rare watch, only available from the 39 official Breguet boutiques.

This watch will be priced at CHF 158,000 – the same price as the white enamel/platinum version. More details at breguet.com.