Breguet continues to impress with the release of the Expérimentale 1 this week, a watch that places their magnetic escapement (first discussed here) within a 10Hz tourbillon delivering a constant force to the balance. The magnetic balance system was devised to, among other things, counter the effect of gravity on the regulating organ, thus placing it within a high frequency tourbillon adds another layer to that effort, and brings an element of drama to the dial in the process. Where the Classique references went old school, the Expérimentale 1 looks forward, and is built within the Marine collection to establish that contrast. This is a different kind of statement piece from Breguet, and a fitting finale to the brand’s 250th anniversary.
There is a lot to unpack with this watch, from the new aesthetic being put forth, the new collection that it introduces, and of course, the technical aspects of the movement itself. The Expérimentale label creates a new avenue for Breguet to introduce technical advancements from their research and development pipeline. The debut piece seen here also happens to align nicely with the brand’s 250th anniversary, serving as an endcap to what has been an incredibly impressive year.
Okay, so what makes this thing so special? Well, the answer has to do with how they’ve gone about creating the constant force escapement. Generally, these things rely on a component upstream of the regulation to store and release power at set intervals, e.g. a remontoire or a fusée-and-chain transmission, etc. What Breguet has done here, with the help of some very small magnets, and a stacked pair of escape wheels, is create a natural constant force escapement. Oh, and it’s frictionless, which is a big part of the equation allowing this to work.
Within the escapement, where you’d usually find a pair of synthetic jewels at the ends of the palette fork, there are instead a set of small magnets. The escape wheel and the lever interact purely through magnetic forces, and does not rely entirely on torque from the mainspring to impulse the balance. The lever itself is pushed by opposing magnetic forces, meaning it is constant and predictable in nature. The escape wheel turns post impulse phase, and it does not make contact with the lever.
A free sprung balance is fit with an etched silicon hairspring which beats at 10Hz around a titanium balance. This sits off-center from the tourbillon’s rotation, which makes a full silky smooth rotation every 60 seconds. The net result is a guaranteed accuracy of +/- 1 second over a 24-hour period. The tourbillon itself sits at the top center of the dial representing the running seconds, while the minute hand operates from the center of the dial, and the hour hand at the six o’clock position for a regulator style layout.
The dial is transparent, allowing a full view of the movement’s structure from the top down. Blue and gold bridges dominate the view, and while I wouldn’t call this an exceptionally legible watch, that view we do get most certainly makes up for it. The whole watch is a truly remarkable achievement, and one that backs up century’s worth of knowhow and technical application. It’s a strong lead off for a new line dedicated to forward-looking Haute Horlogerie from Breguet.
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