So how does any of that fit into the Breguet Classique Chronograph ref. 5287 watch? A timepiece from an illustrious brand with the type of history and prestige your grandmother would easily approve of. Is this one of those prudent investment watches and not one of the weird ones? Yeah, it probably is, but that isn’t why it inspired the above thoughts. I am clearly someone who enjoys strange and less common watches, but I do quite love Breguet replica watches. This perhaps isn’t the piece I would own above all others, but it is both prudent and anything but boring – so it seems to fit into both camps equally. Anyhow, what is the new for 2013 5287 watch all about?
At 42.5mm wide, this is larger than most Breguet Classique collection watches which average maybe 39mm wide or less. In fact, the 5287 is a larger and more distinctive version of the Breguet 5247 collection. Each of those watches was 39mm wide, and included the same movement. I think the last 5247 watch was the version with an enamel dial. Most all of them featured a retro-style snailed tachymeter scale. Those are neat, but I prefer the scale on the 5287, which is beautifully subtle.
The Breguet 5247 and 5287 are similar watches of course as they each contain the same movement. One similarity that I appreciate is that while the 5287 is wider, it is not thicker. Both of the watches are 12.10mm thick. Each of them lives in the Classique collection, which is probably Breguet’s largest family of watches. What is also interesting is that including the 5287, the entire collection has just three chronographs. Of course Breguet makes other chronographs in the Marine and Type XX (XXI, XXII) collections, but it is not their focus as a brand. So a new Classique Chronograph is sort of a big deal. The other Classique Chronograph (if you were curious) is the 5947 (also 39mm wide), and it has a split second complication.
So Classique Chronographs are rare, and once again Breguet relies on the historic caliber 533.3 manually wound movement. Based on a Lemania with a 1940s architecture, Breguet pretties it up with a lot of hand finishing and decoration. It does look like a million bucks and has a column-wheel operated chronograph. The movement further has a power reserve of 48 hours and operates at 3Hz. Seeing the movement through the caseback window shows you just how much larger the case is than the movement. I don’t mind that as I really don’t care if cases are larger than the movements, but it does irritate some people.
At 42.5mm wide with those jutting lugs, the 5287 does wear large. The case comes in either 18k rose or white gold and is really a thing of classic Breguet beauty. That coined edge and high-polish surfacing just won’t get old. The dial is really where the magic is, and Breguet doesn’t let down with a solid 18k gold dial that has been guilloche machine engraved with four distinct patterns. I really love the tachymeter (tachymetre) scale that is just so gorgeously inconspicuous. Not that anyone uses these, but Breguet has done an admirable job of hiding this vestige of “chronographia.” They’ve not only turned it into a fresh design element, but they’ve actually made it look a bit unique.
What gets most people talking about the Classique Chronograph 5287 are the sub dials. This bi-compax chronograph appears to be winking at you, as the left “eye” isn’t fully open. This is actually the running seconds dial, as the right 30 minute counter is used for the chronograph minutes. Nice? Strange? Interesting? The sub dial is all of those things, but it isn’t a new creation for Breguet replica. No my friend, this dial layout has been adapted from a much more exclusive watch from Breguet’s recent past.
The 7637 lives in the Classique Complications family and is minute repeater. Yeah, how random is that? Breguet is inspired by a minute repeater for a chronograph? The 7637 (which you can look up if you are curious about it) is just a hair smaller at 42mm wide and contains Breguet’s 567/2 manually wound minute repeater movement with time and an AM/PM indicator. So on that watch the half open/tapering sub dial is also used for the running seconds, while the right sub dial is a synchronized 24 hour hand, which is used as an AM/PM indicator.
For the 5287 Breguet adapted the concept for a chronograph and gave it a sportier look with a red chronograph seconds hand and other red color accents. I quite like the chronograph seconds hand. The long counterweight gives it a very elegant stance on the dial. An important thing to note is that two versions of the 5287 have black dials. Classique collection watches with black dials aren’t something I’ve seen before. I am sure they exist, but I think of mostly “silver” colored dials when I think of Classique watches.