Breguet Reine de Naples 8905
Breguet designed the first wristwatch in 1811 and delivered it the following year to its new owner, Caroline Murat, the Queen of Naples. In 2002, after perusing the brand’s archives, Breguet released a range of ladies’ watches called ‘Reine de Naples’. Recently, the high-end brand unveiled the Breguet Reine de Naples 8905, a new creation that remains unequivocally Breguet.
Throughout the history of horology, there is one name that repeatedly comes to the fore, Abraham-Louis Breguet. Born in 1747, Breguet moved from his home town in Neuchâtel, Switzerland to Paris where he ultimately attracted the patronage of the ‘great and the good’.
Unlike many highly skilled watchmakers, Breguet had multiple talents, some of which fell outside the usual skillset of a watchmaker. Indeed, beyond his considerable watchmaking prowess, he was an innovator with numerous inventions attributed to him, including the tourbillon, the pare-chute and the Breguet overcoil. Moreover, he was an aesthete, famed for his eponymous watch hands and numerals that continue to proffer eye-appeal despite the passage of time. Breguet was also synonymous with guilloché and is widely cited as the first person to use this form of decoration as a means of embellishing the case of a pocket watch (circa 1786).
While some watchmakers sometimes suffered financial hardship, Abraham-Louis Breguet was a consummate businessman. Despite his watches proving popular with aristocrats and royalty, he identified there was also demand for more affordable timepieces. The souscription pocket watch was a comparatively simple timepiece featuring a lone hand, indicating both hours and minutes, and an enamel dial. The watches were promoted with a simple brochure (1796) which invited interested parties to make a down-payment of 25%. Clearly, this approach incentivised the buyer to complete the transaction and, no doubt, also helped Breguet’s cashflow. It is estimated that Breguet produced approximately 700 souscription pocket watches in the latter part of the 1700s and early 1800s. At this juncture, I must point out that whilst the souscription watch was more accessible than one of Breguet’s complicated watches adorned with guilloché, it remained prohibitively expensive for the masses and was solely the preserve of the well heeled.
In the late 18th century, such was the cachet of Breguet, his work attracted the attention of scoundrels, culminating in forgeries entering circulation. Again, the great man had a solution to the problem. He applied a secret signature to the dial that was barely visible to the naked eye. It provided an ingenious means of authentication that continues to feature on modern-day Breguet watches.
Breguet supplied the Bonapartes, including Napoléon Bonaparate, his wife, L’impératrice Joséphine, and his younger sister, Caroline Murat. In 1811, Breguet designed the first wristwatch for Caroline Murat, the Queen of Naples. This timepiece was an ‘oblong-shaped repeating watch’, number 2839, and was worn on a ‘wristlet’. It was equipped with a silver guilloché dial. The watch was delivered in 1812 and subsequently repaired in 1849 and 1855. As well as having a minute repeater, the timepiece featured a moon phase and thermometer. Mysteriously, the watch disappeared in 1855 and has never been seen since.
The Maison, eager to discover the physical characteristics of number 2839, studied historical records. As a result, in 2002, Breguet released a new range of ladies’ watches, the Reine de Naples incorporating many of the details of the historic 2839 watch. Interestingly, the shape of the case altered, transitioning from an oblong form to an oval or egg-shaped profile. Over the years, the notably elegant design of the Reine de Naples has attracted much praise and has proved a commercial success.
Recently, the high-end brand unveiled the Breguet Reine de Naples 8905. This beautiful expression of femininity and grace is housed in a white gold case with caseband fluting. The hour and minute display is presented off-centre and encompasses hand guilloché. Thermally blued Breguet style hands collaborate with Roman numerals, lucidly imparting meaning. A heart-shaped seconds hand is positioned to the base of the guilloché dial, adding a note of playful romanticism to proceedings. A moon phase display and power-reserve indicator reside in the northern section of the dial.
Beyond the confines of the hour and minute display, an expanse of mother-of-pearl heightens the overall sense of luxury. The case is appointed with 128 diamonds and a lone ruby graces the vertical flank of the crown, underscoring the notable sumptuousness of the composition.
Convenience is afforded with the self-winding Calibre 537DRL2, visible to the rear of the watch via pane of sapphire crystal. Lastly, the timepiece is presented on a red alligator strap, paired with a white gold triple-blade clasp set with 28 diamonds.
The brand’s press release
As Valentine’s Day approaches, Breguet has attired the Reine de Naples in celestial poetry. The white mother-of-pearl dial was specially chosen for its appearance featuring fluffy “clouds” that appear to float between the moon-phase display and the hours, minutes and seconds subdials. This model is issued in a 28-piece limited edition.
An emblem of feminine watchmaking, the Reine de Naples collection draws its inspiration from the first wristwatch in history, delivered in 1812 to Napoleon’s sister, the elegant Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples. Today, this timepiece that originally featured an oblong shape and has now turned oval, is an undisputedly iconic women’s watch. Each model in the contemporary collection, whether gemset, beaded or lacquered, is an ode to femininity. This new interpretation from Breguet is no exception to the rule. Issued on the occasion of Valentine’s Day, this timepiece exudes an appealing allure graced with subtle romantic references.
The dial is adorned with an airy sky whose white mother-of-pearl shimmer is sprinkled with “clouds”. At 12 o’clock, the trail of love appears in red to indicate the 45-hour power reserve. As if suspended from the clouds, the finely hammered moon-phase display is composed of white gold. Located in the lower part of the dial, the chapter ring is set with hand-guilloché natural white mother-of-pearl, as is the centre of the small seconds display. The Breguet open-tipped blued steel hands indicate the hours and minutes. Each second is priceless in the realm of love, which is why they are marked by a red-lacquered double heart. To complete these poetic touches, the white gold bezel and case flange are sprinkled with a sparkling shower of 128 diamonds. A symbol of passionate love, red also appears on the crown, which is set with a ruby. This white gold timepiece elegantly plays with the immaculate contrasts of the sky and the touches of garnet, expressing the fire of love. To finish off in style, its blazing red alligator leather strap is fitted with a white gold triple-blade folding clasp set with 28 diamonds.
Performance in feminine style
Abraham-Louis Breguet set himself the high standards of offering watches combining aesthetics with high-level precision. This value remains a priority for the manufacture to this day, as demonstrated once again by this new creation. The movement at the heart of the new Reine de Naples 8905 is self-winding. It is equipped with a straight-line Swiss lever escapement and a silicon hairspring. The 269-component movement beats at a frequency of 3.5 Hz while its platinum oscillating weight is entirely hand-guilloché and can be admired through the sapphire caseback, as can the movement finely decorated in keeping with the noblest principles of Haute Horlogerie. Finally, this elegant timepiece is water-resistant to 3 bar (30 metres).
A watch fit for a queen
During her reign in Naples, Caroline Murat, Napoleon Bonaparte’s younger sister, was a great supporter of the arts and acquired over 30 Breguet watches and clocks. In 1810, the watchmaker based on the Quai de l’Horloge in Paris began a new creation for the Queen of Naples: a watch that could be worn on the wrist. It was the first wristwatch specifically designed for this purpose. From its delivery in 1812 to its repair in 1849 and 1855, the Breguet archives trace the history and characteristics of this watch that has now vanished. This extremely refined oblong watch with its silver guilloché dial featured several complications: a minute repeater, a moon phase and also a thermometer. Finally, a strap made of hair finely woven with gold thread allowed it to be worn around the wrist.
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