Breguet Classique Souscription in Platinum Watch Review
At the GPHG awards in 2025, the Breguet Classique Souscription scooped watchmaking’s ultimate award, the ‘Aiguille d’Or’. Some 12 months after delighting horophiles with the inaugural version in 18K Breguet gold, the esteemed Maison has now released an additional reference in platinum. Angus Davies, a self-confessed Breguet devotee, shares his thoughts.
Image – Breguet Classique Souscription in 18K Breguet gold (Ref. 2025BH/28/9W6)
GPHG – Aiguille d’Or
Last Saturday evening, like many watch obsessives, I sat in front of my laptop and watched the live coverage of the GPHG 2026 awards. There were some fabulous entries this year and several worthy winners, but as the award ceremony neared its conclusion, there still remained the ultimate prize, the ‘Aiguille d’Or’, that had yet to be presented. Gregory Kissling, CEO of Breguet, stood on the stage and handed Rexhep Rexhepi the hand-shaped trophy in recognition of his superb Chronograph Flyback. Next year, Rexhepi will be entrusted with passing the trophy to the 2027 winner of the Aiguille d’Or, as GPHG convention dictates.
Image – Gregory Kissling, CEO of Breguet
As I reflected on the various winners, I thought about Kissling standing on the stage. Was it really just 12 months since he held the Aiguille d’Or aloft in front of his watch industry peers? The saying ‘time flies’ may be a cliché, but it is also a sad reality for those of us approaching 60. The award-winning Breguet Classique Souscription (Ref. 2025BH/28/9W6) is a modern-day wristwatch, housed in 18K Breguet gold, inspired by the famous pocket watches crafted by Abraham-Louis Breguet in the late 18th-century. Recently, the historical Maison released the Breguet Classique Souscription in platinum (2026PT/28/9W6). I will discuss these present-day references shortly, but first, it is worth going back in history.
Image – Breguet Classique Souscription in 18K Breguet gold (Ref. 2025BH/28/9W6)
Image – Breguet Classique Souscription in platinum (2026PT/28/9W6)
Souscription de Montres
Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823) was born in Neuchâtel, but moved to Versailles at the tender age of 15 where he completed his watchmaking apprenticeship. In 1775, he set up a workshop on Quai de l’Horloge in Paris, where he ultimately attracted the patronage of the great and the good. I recently discussed Breguet’s rise to prominence in my article on the F.P.Journe Chronomètre À Résonance Souscripion No.7.
Image – Breguet souscription pocket watch
Breguet was a multitalented individual: a watchmaker, an inventor, an aesthete and a consummate businessman. His watches were the preserve of royalty, aristocrats and the bourgeoisie. In 1796, he conceived the ‘souscription watch’, a comparatively simple timepiece featuring a lone hand to indicate the hours and minutes. The pocket watches were of uniform design, mitigating costs, allowing him to deliver a ‘high-grade simple watch at a low price’ (The Art of Breguet, George Daniels, 1975). Breguet created a form of brochure, offering the watch for 600 livres; a quarter paid on subscription (the deposit) and the balance on delivery. It was an ingenious method of raising capital, helping Breguet pay for necessary supplies. Today, the ‘souscription’ model is widely used, particularly among small independent watch brands, albeit the requested deposits vary widely.
Despite Breguet’s souscription watches being simpler and, by default, more affordable, they were never ‘cheap’ and remained worthy of the watchmaker’s illustrious name.
Breguet Classique Souscription in Platinum – dial
The most articulate speakers understand the value of words, using them carefully to maximum effect. And so it is for watch dials. The dials of both the Breguet Classique Souscription in platinum and its sibling housed in 18K Breguet gold are identical. They do not overburden the wearer with superfluous indications or distracting fussiness. On the contrary, their design is a paragon of brevity, concisely indicating the hours and minutes with a lone Breguet hand.
Above image – Breguet hand on a bed of copper filings prior to being heat-blued
Above image – Breguet hand after being heat-blued
Above image – fitting the heat-blued hand with watch hand press
Above image – the profile of the hand follows the profile of the curved dial
The steel hand is thermally blued, curved, to follow the profile of the dial, and features a slightly stylised tip, augmenting readability. Breguet numerals sit adjacent a chemin de fer that encircles the crisp white Grand Feu dial.
Above image – note the ‘secret signature’ positioned above 6 o’clock
Despite writing about watches for many years, I never tire of Grand Feu dials. Making a Grand Feu dial begins with a powdered mixture being applied to a dial blank. It is then fired in an oven at approximately 800°C, subsequently removed at the right moment and allowed to cool. This process is repeated several times, creating layers of white enamel that bestow a bewitching lustre that will never fade with the onset of years. In the upper region of the dial, Breguet’s name is presented in a cursive font, while beneath 6 o’clock, the words ‘SWISS ÉMAILLÉ GRAND FEU’ reside, discreet and tasteful. Each hour is denoted with Breguet numerals and the dial is marked with a traditional pantograph with the famous ‘secret signature’, an anti-counterfeiting device conceived by Abraham-Louis Breguet back in the day.
Above image – using a pantograph to apply the ‘secret signature’
Breguet Classique Souscription in Platinum – case
The decision to reimagine the historic Souscription pocket watch of the late 18th century and create a wristwatch for the modern era was truly inspired. The pocket watches typically measured 61 mm in diameter, hence Breguet needed to shrink everything to make it suitable for wearing on the wrist. The resultant watch measures 40 mm in diameter with a lug-to-lug distance of 21 mm and a case thickness of 10.8 mm; dimensions that will suit the majority of wrists. Earlier this year, while visiting Breguet’s Manufacture, I had the opportunity to try on the Souscription in gold and its size and ergonomic profile delivered impressive wearer comfort. The platinum reference shares the same shape and size as the gold reference, the only difference being the metals employed.
Despite Abraham-Louis Breguet’s souscription watches being comparatively simple (compared with his other work), they were not ‘uniform’ like today’s serially-produced watches. Over the 30-year period ALB’s souscription watches were made, there were some differences in terms of dials, cases and movements. Moreover, while the period watches were more affordable, they still featured some exquisite touches. For example, cases would sometimes feature glorious engine-turned motifs.
Image – hand-guilloché motif being applied to the caseback (gold version pictured)
The new Classique Souscription models eschew Breguet’s favoured ‘caseband fluting’, instead favouring a subtle satin-brushed finish. The other surfaces are highly polished but remain elegantly restrained and there is a new, softly-spoken hand-guilloché motif to the rear of the case, termed ‘Quai de l’Horloge’. As you would expect of a watch of this standing, Breguet has chosen to equip the case with an exhibition caseback, revealing the hand-wound calibre within, the Calibre VS00.
Breguet Classique Souscription in Platinum – Calibre VS00
The beauty of the Calibre VS00 will be evident to any self-respecting purist, sharing much in common with Abraham-Louis Breguet’s historic pocket watch (save for the escapement). The bridges and plate are ‘finely shot-blasted gilded brass’, imbuing the watch with a period aesthetic. When ALB designed his ‘simple’ movement back in the day, the components were arranged symmetrically. Sharing a close resemblance to the great man’s work, the modern calibre’s second wheel and balance wheel are supported with stepped cocks, pointing inwards. The movement features a Breguet overcoil, another ALB invention, that causes the balance spring to develop more concentrically, improving isochronism. In addition, there is also the great man’s shock protection system, the ‘pare-chute’, sat atop the balance cock.
Wherever you choose to look, you discover joy. The ratchet wheel sits at the centre of the movement and is engraved with the founder’s own words. The escape wheel is held with an intricately shaped bridge retained with two thermally blued screws which sit adjacent to two mirror-polished pegs. The frosted bridges and cocks are endowed with polished angles, the mainplate is engraved with the maker’s name and reference number. For all self-respecting watch obsessives, there are many additional details likely to evoke smiles of delight, including a mirror-polished sliding stud-cap with rounded head, gleaming pegs and pivots and thermally blued screws that ALB would have used back in the day. Personally, I love how you can see the teeth of the second wheel mesh with the pinion of the third wheel. Quite simply, there is a purity to the construction of this movement.
Although the Calibre VS00 shares a strong likeness with ALB’s 18th-century masterpiece, the cylinder escapement used on the original pocket watch has been superseded by a superior, contemporary Swiss lever escapement. The modern-day movement also features a Nivachron balance spring made from a titanium-based compensating alloy that is non-magnetic and resistant to temperature fluctuations and shocks.
Image – balance cock, complete with balance spring and pare-chute
Whereas ALB’s pocket watch featured an index-adjusted balance, the modern Breguet Classique Souscription watch is fitted with a variable-inertia balance. With this latter means of regulation, the effective length of the balance spring is fixed. By tightening/loosening timing screws affixed to the rim of the balance wheel, the watchmaker can alter the moment of inertia to adjust the rate. This latter form of regulation means the rate can be set more precisely, delivering superior precision. Moreover, should the watch be subjected to a shock, it is less likely to require remedial regulation. Breguet has also chosen to set the timing screws in small recesses within the rim of the balance wheel, mitigating air perturbation, thereby improving isochronism.
Image – Angus Davies jewel setting at Breguet Manufacture
Closing remarks
Occasionally, in the course of my career scribbling about watches, I have met a few ‘famous’ faces from the worlds of movies, music and sport. Some of them I have found to be pleasant, some merely tolerable, but at no stage have I ever felt starstruck. That is because my ultimate hero is unquestionably Abraham-Louis Breguet. He existed in an age predating CAD, CNC and EDM, yet many of his ideas have, to date, never been bettered.
Image – Breguet Classique Souscription in 18K Breguet gold (Ref. 2025BH/28/9W6)
Today, Gregory Kissling and his team are responsible for respecting ALB’s legacy, creating products worthy of his name. The Breguet Classique Souscription is a wonderful demonstration of a brand that fully appreciates the great man’s work and his many achievements. The modern timepiece has retained many aspects of the original pocket watch but also incorporates modern technology where this represents progress, eg the Nivachron balance spring.
The Breguet Classique Souscription is an extraordinary watch, crafted with tasteful restraint. Its pure appearance, high quotient of artisanal crafts and mechanical integrity make a compelling case for acquisition. I look forward to seeing more examples of the great man’s work reimagined for the wrist in the future. And, who knows, we may see Mr Kissling standing on the stage at GPHG 2027, when, sadly, I will be another year older.
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Model: Breguet Classique Souscription in Platinum
- Reference: 2026PT/28/9W6
- Case: platinum, diameter 40.8 mm, height 10.8 mm, water resistance 3 ATM (30 m); sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition case back.
- Functions: single hand indicating the hours and minutes
- Movement: Calibre VS00, hand-wound movement, frequency 21,600 vph (3 Hz), 21 jewels, power reserve 96 hours.
- Strap: alligator leather, small-scaled alligator leather lining. Fitted with a platinum pin buckle
- Price: £58,800 (RRP as of 12.11.2026)