Manufacture Breguet announces the creation of a line that will incorporate the latest innovations from its Research and Development department. Named “Expérimentale”, it is initially being introduced through a Marine wristwatch featuring an innovative and daring design. This timepiece crafted in Breguet gold is equipped with the very first high-frequency (10 Hz) tourbillon with a magnetic escapement and delivering constant force to the balance. It is certified by the Breguet hallmark.

R&D have been core to numerous Breguet creations for 250 years. This spirit was instilled by Abraham-Louis Breguet himself, who was responsible from 1775 onwards for most of the watchmaking innovations of that era: the tourbillon, the perpétuelle watch, the natural escapement, the constant-force escapement, the “observation” seconds counter (which gave rise to the chronograph), the shock absorber, the Breguet balance-spring with its terminal curve, the gong-spring (for chiming watches), the first wristwatch, etc.

To give shape to this approach based on continuous progress, the Manufacture decided to develop a collection in parallel with its existing ones and named Expérimentale. This series of special timepieces pays tribute to A.-L. Breguet’s creations that all underwent an experimental phase.

This experimental collection is designed to showcase the brand’s latest technical and aesthetic developments. It offers a glimpse of what Breguet watchmaking will look like in the future. For collectors, it is also an opportunity to be among the first to acquire high-end timepieces in strictly limited series, of which the scientific content will be developed in subsequent collections.

While the first timepiece in this new collection marks the final chapter in Manufacture Breguet’s 250^th anniversary celebrations, it also represents the first chapter of its future. An inaugural creation whose purpose is to pave the way for the House going forward.

The Expérimentale 1 is not a spontaneous creation, stemming instead from many years of R&D work carried out behind the scenes and that has given rise to the current watches, notably the Classique, Tradition, Marine and Type XX collections.

The Expérimentale programme aims to highlight this R&D shedding light on the entire field of horology through its work on materials, electromagnetism, vibratory mechanics and acoustics. Science in the broadest sense of the term, connecting with design.

For this first instalment, Breguet has fulfilled two objectives. The first, fundamental goal underpinning all technical endeavours is the quest for precision.

The second is to build a bridge between legacy and the future. This approach is being rolled out as part of the House’s 250^th anniversary celebrations. Highlighting the historical significance of the Expérimentale 1 seemed an obvious choice.

These ties with the past are expressed by making this timepiece part of the Marine collection. The aim is to recall that, after his appointment to the Paris Bureau des Longitudes in 1814, A.-L. Breguet was awarded the title of Horloger de la Marine Royale (Watchmaker by appointment to the Royal Navy) by Louis XVIII.

This distinction was the most prestigious a watchmaker could possibly receive, as the very notion of maritime horology required scientific expertise.

The Expérimentale 1 represents a continuation of this tradition, showcasing technical breakthroughs that are already shaping the future of Haute Horlogerie.

The Expérimentale 1 is based on several complementary aesthetic foundations interacting to form a unique and harmonious whole.

For this first opus, the designers drew inspiration from the history of the Marine collection, with L’Expérimentale featuring some of its codes: a sporty case, close-set central lugs, a rubber strap (interchangeable for the first time), as well as utmost attention devoted to readability – notably enhanced by all-luminescent indications.

From a historical perspective, it echoes the aesthetic codes of Reference 3448, particularly in terms of its dial display and movement architecture.

Furthermore, the Expérimentale 1 echoes the Reference 1747 model created in 1997 to mark the 250^th anniversary of A.-L. Breguet’s birth.

This establishes a natural connection with the Expérimentale 1, unveiled in 2025 to celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the birth of the Manufacture that has borne his name since 1775.

Another obvious link is that the 1747 was the first wristwatch to feature a regulator display in Breguet’s recent history – and the likewise regulator-type Expérimentale 1 is its legitimate successor.

The lineage dates all the way back to the authentic Marine Chronometer No. 104 by A.-L. Breguet. At the time, the great watchmaker was exiled from France, where the Revolution was raging. The piece was started in the temporary workshop he had set up in Le Locle.

No. 104 was Breguet’s first known marine chronometer, just as the Expérimentale 1 is Breguet’s first pure R&D model; finally, No. 104 was the first to use Arabic numerals (extremely rare at the time), which are also picked up on the Expérimentale 1.

On a technical level, the choice of distinctive characteristics contributing to enhanced accuracy was just as obvious. Precision was and remains the driving force behind Breguet’s innovation. It was the reason for almost all the innovations introduced by A.-L. Breguet, a watchmaker who spent his entire life perfecting the art of horology.

It should be noted that Breguet filed very few patents during his lifetime, as they were rarely needed at the time. Two of them did however leave an indelible imprint on their era.

The first was filed on 9 March 1798 and related to constant force, while the second registered on 26 June 1801 was intended to protect the tourbillon.

Two centuries later, Manufacture Breguet is following in the great watchmaker’s footsteps by pushing these two fundamental areas of endeavour up a further notch on the tourbillon and the constant-force escapement.

Together with the magnetic escapement, they form the heart of the Expérimentale 1. Like A.-L. Breguet’s original creations, its components have been designed to bring real added value to the product. The Expérimentale 1 heralds a new era for watchmaking, in which the Manufacture will showcase the fruits of its watchmaking and scientific research.

The quest for accuracy cannot be reduced to one sole problem with a single solution, instead combining at least three variables.

The first is the consistent amplitude of the balance. The latter is located downstream from the barrel, whose torque decreases as the power reserve is depleted.

It is therefore inherently very difficult for the balance to maintain a constant amplitude if the energy it receives is not consistent.

The second is the influence of Earth’s gravity, which particularly affects the entire regulating organ (balance and hairspring), thereby impacting its performance.

The third factor is shock resistance. All contemporary watches are subjected to accelerations that are multiples of the Earth’s gravitational acceleration expressed in “gs”.

More dramatically, they can be subjected to impacts – including those involved in simply placing a watch on a hard surface.

Every impact and every movement affects the regular running of the watch – and hence impairs its precision.

Setting out the terms of this horological equation serves to explain the three technical choices made by Breguet to resolve them. They are combined in a single solution that is as elegant as it is ingenious: a 10 Hz tourbillon with constant-force magnetic escapement.

Magnetism serves to impart a stable impulse to the balance throughout the power reserve, as well as to decouple the impulse function from the rotation of the escape-wheel, the tourbillon cage and the rest of the going train.

The high frequency enables the balance to return more quickly to its normal amplitude after being disturbed by an impact.

The tourbillon cycles through the different vertical positions that the watch can adopt in 60 seconds. It therefore naturally averages out the variations in rate due to gravity.

Since the early 2010s, the Manufacture has continued to perfect its mastery of the magnetic field. While this has now been extended to the escapement, its founding principle remains the same: to create a carefully controlled magnetic field and interactions.

This involves two escape-wheels each equipped with a magnetic track, at the centre of which beats a pallet-lever with likewise magnetic pallets. The idea is to take cues from constant-force escapements. Below a certain operating torque, the tourbillon stops very quickly, while above this threshold, the balance oscillates at its maximum amplitude.

This new escapement also makes it possible to decouple the impulses transmitted to the balance from the rotation of the escape-wheel and hence from the rest of the gear train. Unlike in a Swiss lever movement, the inertia of the tourbillon cage has almost no influence.

By decoupling these two functions, Breguet has been able to create a tourbillon with a 10 Hz oscillator in such dimensions, also giving free rein to design choices, for example by offsetting its balance from the cage’s centre of rotation.

Compared to most traditional tourbillons operating at 2.5 Hz, this represents a fourfold increase. This 10 Hz frequency is even significantly higher than most classic Swiss lever escapement watches without tourbillons, almost all of which run at 3 or 4 Hz.

The 10 Hz tourbillon with magnetic escapement is therefore more stable and more accurate than most contemporary wristwatches.

The Expérimentale 1 wristwatch is certified by the Breguet hallmark in the “Scientific” category, meaning it has a guaranteed accuracy of ±1 second over a 24-hour period.

The construction of the escapement mechanism is also unusual. Between its two escape-wheels equipped with a magnetic track, an intermediate stop wheel ensures that the device does not suffer any unwanted jumps.

Most of the other tourbillon components are non-magnetic, in order to avoid any interaction that could interfere with its smooth running. The balance-spring is made of silicon, the fixed fourth wheel of LIGA (NiP12) and the other components of titanium or nivagauss.

The Expérimentale 1 is housed in a 43.5 mm-diameter Breguet gold case, a size inspired by the standards of the Marine collection.

In terms of design, the timepiece is inspired by the pocket watch No. 3448, picking up the latter’s key characteristics with a regulator-style display and symmetrical movement while taking them to a new level by merging front and back. The Expérimentale provides full visibility, thanks to a sapphire dial providing a view of the entire movement.

The regulator-type display features hours at 6 o’clock, offset minutes and seconds on the tourbillon at 12 o’clock.

Already tried and tested by A.-L. Breguet back in his day, this layout ensures greater legibility and also contributes to accurate timekeeping.

The Expérimentale 1 also features a patented twin barrel, like the Breguet no. 3448, but this time on two series-coupled levels, each consisting of a double spring separated by a sapphire spacer, arranged on either side of the minutes axis at 3 and 9 o’clock respectively. This double-sprung mechanism serves to optimise energy management in relation to the space available.

Finally, most of the traditional characteristics of a Breguet watch are present: a double-stepped fluted caseband, six close-set lugs – of which two are dedicated to the interchangeability mechanism and the four others are facetted, alternating between sandblasted blued and satin-brushed finishes as well as a blue ALD-treated Breguet gold inlay – blue open-tipped hands enhanced with Super-LumiNova®, a secret signature on the sapphire dial and Breguet numerals.

Above and beyond these features, the aesthetic vocabulary of the Expérimentale 1 has been completely reinvented.


The first thing to note is the construction of the solid gold bridges, whose soft curves have given way to sharp angles.

Their surface is satin-brushed, while the angles are hand-finished and mirror-polished to accentuate the rigorous geometry of their design. Breguet gold, combined with the navy blue coating, reveals itself in all its complexity with a blend of warmth, brilliance and intensity. The blue hue of the barrel springs is also a first for Breguet.

The sapphire dial rests on four gold pillars. It displays the hours, formed by three linked luminescent circles.

The large peripheral minutes track surrounds the chapter ring at 6 o’clock, while the tourbillon appears to escape from its confines, sitting freely at 12 o’clock – two-thirds inside the minutes track and one-third above it.

It is here, directly above the Breguet gold mainplate, that the Manufacture has chosen to place the Expérimentale 1 cartouche, symbolically crowning the entire composition – and more particularly its 10 Hz tourbillon with a constant-force magnetic escapement. The latter consists of a large rounded-off polished bridge, with the small seconds dial resting at its centre.