Come one come all to Wrist Game or Crying Shame. This week, we look inside the dial with the Breguet Tradition 7027 in yellow gold. But firstLast week, we took a look at the very first Tudor Black Bay model. This ETA-powered variant has earned its Smiley Face nickname due to the arc-shaped font on its dial. Despite the very lively comment section, 80% of you showed us your pearly whites on the way to a Wrist Game win. This week, we go way upmarket with the Breguet Tradition 7027. Lets see what you think.
BreguetI often talk about growing up and learning about watches and brands. My Dad knew and knows quite a bit, but we were also the recipients of quite a bit of in-store learning during the early 90s. Ive mentioned this before, but this was a period when mechanical watches truly made a comeback after falling prey to the quartz crisis in the 70s and then a subsequent Miami Vice era of glitzy watches in the 80s.In the 90s, watches like the Reverso and the Calatrava became big names again. Alongside these names, there were the two Bs Blancpain and Breguet and wow were they expensive. I feel like both companies, especially Breguet, struggled to offer a watch below five figures. Honestly, they were quite serious-looking and, sorry, boring to a teenager. Im not sure if todays Breguet Tradition 7027 would have sparked my interest at the time, but it definitely does now.
The Breguet Tradition 7027Todays Breguet Tradition 7027 first debuted back in 2005 and it must have been fairly shocking for the time. Heres a watch with an open dial with just a touch of the, ahem, traditional with its small guilloch| dial below 12 oclock. It also contains a detail Ive always loved on a Breguet but forgot to mention and thats the reeded or coin-edged case flanks. Aside from those customary traits, the overall look is fairly avant-garde yet classical.The Breguet Tradition 7027 contains some interesting technical traits. The 507 DR is a manual wind movement with 50 hours of power reserve and a display for those hours on the upper left of the dial. It also uses the Breguet Pare-chute form of shock protection that debuted in the early 1800s. You can see this right around 4 oclock where the mainspring is located. Speaking of which, Breguet calls out the use of its own Breguet overcoil, which became a standard for most watch companies after the late 1800s. You can read more on this key innovation here. Note that such innovation seems common today, but it was groundbreaking at the time and still lives with us.
The looksFor those of you who know me if you dont, just look at the types of watches I cover a watch like the Breguet Tradition 7027 isnt my normal cup of tea. Its a dress watch and most of its innards are visible on the front side of the watch. Normally, I just dont gravitate towards such things. However, last year, I attended the Geneva Watch Days events and I was fortunate enough to visit a brand that Id long held in high regard. That brand was MBF. Even though that brands designs are very open, Ive always enjoyed their whimsy and airiness. Specifically, I love the Legacy Machine LM101, but theyre incredibly expensive and rare.My claim, which is probably a bit bold, is that the Breguet Tradition 7027 could be seen as an inspiration to the more recent MBF. The 7027 lacks the 3D bubble aspects of the LM101, but theres a fineness to the mechanical elements in common. On top of it all, the Tradition is available and more affordable if thats a word worth using.
Todays candidateI stumbled upon todays Breguet Tradition 7027 on Chrono24 and it looks like a really nice and complete example. The watch and photos belong to seller Luxury Time in the home of Hochdeutsch Hannover, Germany. The 18K yellow gold watch dates to 2005 and comes with the box and papers. It also comes with its original gold buckle and crocodile strap. What I really like, though, is that this watch lists for 11,999. That seems like a really sweet deal. Sure, you may need to factor in a pricey service, but lets figure on a couple of thousand max. For reference, a quick jump to the Breguet site shows a nearly identical 7027 (theyve jazzed things up with a darker dial) and it retails for 25,600Thats a serious difference and it goes to show that I really dont understand watch collectors. Breguet is a brand with real history, which makes some beautiful pieces, so go figure.With that, its time for you to vote on this Breguet Tradition 7027. Do you find this as a relatively affordable way to enter the realm of Haute Horlogerie or are resale values for watches like this depressed for a reason?Breguet Tradition 7027
BreguetI often talk about growing up and learning about watches and brands. My Dad knew and knows quite a bit, but we were also the recipients of quite a bit of in-store learning during the early 90s. Ive mentioned this before, but this was a period when mechanical watches truly made a comeback after falling prey to the quartz crisis in the 70s and then a subsequent Miami Vice era of glitzy watches in the 80s.In the 90s, watches like the Reverso and the Calatrava became big names again. Alongside these names, there were the two Bs Blancpain and Breguet and wow were they expensive. I feel like both companies, especially Breguet, struggled to offer a watch below five figures. Honestly, they were quite serious-looking and, sorry, boring to a teenager. Im not sure if todays Breguet Tradition 7027 would have sparked my interest at the time, but it definitely does now.The Breguet Tradition 7027Todays Breguet Tradition 7027 first debuted back in 2005 and it must have been fairly shocking for the time. Heres a watch with an open dial with just a touch of the, ahem, traditional with its small guilloch| dial below 12 oclock. It also contains a detail Ive always loved on a Breguet but forgot to mention and thats the reeded or coin-edged case flanks. Aside from those customary traits, the overall look is fairly avant-garde yet classical.The Breguet Tradition 7027 contains some interesting technical traits. The 507 DR is a manual wind movement with 50 hours of power reserve and a display for those hours on the upper left of the dial. It also uses the Breguet Pare-chute form of shock protection that debuted in the early 1800s. You can see this right around 4 oclock where the mainspring is located. Speaking of which, Breguet calls out the use of its own Breguet overcoil, which became a standard for most watch companies after the late 1800s. You can read more on this key innovation here. Note that such innovation seems common today, but it was groundbreaking at the time and still lives with us.The looksFor those of you who know me if you dont, just look at the types of watches I cover a watch like the Breguet Tradition 7027 isnt my normal cup of tea. Its a dress watch and most of its innards are visible on the front side of the watch. Normally, I just dont gravitate towards such things. However, last year, I attended the Geneva Watch Days events and I was fortunate enough to visit a brand that Id long held in high regard. That brand was MBF. Even though that brands designs are very open, Ive always enjoyed their whimsy and airiness. Specifically, I love the Legacy Machine LM101, but theyre incredibly expensive and rare.My claim, which is probably a bit bold, is that the Breguet Tradition 7027 could be seen as an inspiration to the more recent MBF. The 7027 lacks the 3D bubble aspects of the LM101, but theres a fineness to the mechanical elements in common. On top of it all, the Tradition is available and more affordable if thats a word worth using.Todays candidateI stumbled upon todays Breguet Tradition 7027 on Chrono24 and it looks like a really nice and complete example. The watch and photos belong to seller Luxury Time in the home of Hochdeutsch Hannover, Germany. The 18K yellow gold watch dates to 2005 and comes with the box and papers. It also comes with its original gold buckle and crocodile strap. What I really like, though, is that this watch lists for 11,999. That seems like a really sweet deal. Sure, you may need to factor in a pricey service, but lets figure on a couple of thousand max. For reference, a quick jump to the Breguet site shows a nearly identical 7027 (theyve jazzed things up with a darker dial) and it retails for 25,600Thats a serious difference and it goes to show that I really dont understand watch collectors. Breguet is a brand with real history, which makes some beautiful pieces, so go figure.With that, its time for you to vote on this Breguet Tradition 7027. Do you find this as a relatively affordable way to enter the realm of Haute Horlogerie or are resale values for watches like this depressed for a reason?Breguet Tradition 7027