A Closer Look at the Breguet Classique Tourbillon Sidéral 7255

Unveiled on 26 June 2025, a nod to the date Abraham-Louis Breguet secured a patent for his gravity-defying tourbillon (26 June 1801), the Tourbillon Sidéral 7255 takes his groundbreaking regulator on a fascinating ride through time and space. Released for the brand’s 250^th anniversary celebrations, the Breguet Classique Tourbillon Sidéral 7255 pays homage to its illustrious founder and marks a milestone as the brand’s first flying tourbillon. Magically suspended in mid-air and staged against a sparkling night sky in a compact Breguet gold Classique case, the flying tourbillon is nothing short of spellbinding.

While it might come as a surprise that a Maison so closely associated with tourbillons did not have a flying tourbillon in its repertoire, the anniversary piece tackled the omission in great style. Projecting 2.2mm above the mainplate and 0.9mm above the dial, Breguet’s flying tourbillon defies spatial constraints as it pirouettes with no visible signs of support. The secret of the flying tourbillon, developed in 1920 by German watchmaker Alfred Helwig, resides in its architecture. Supported only by its lower bridge, the upper bridge is removed to provide an unimpeded view.

However, Breguet’s flying tourbillon pushes the envelope further, “floating”, like David Bowie’s Major Tom “in a most peculiar way”, thanks to its mysterious complication. Made of sapphire glass with an anti-reflective coating, the lower bridge and lower support of the tourbillon carriage vanish like magic into thin air.

A question that frequently arises concerns the “Sidéral” mention in the watch’s name. While the name might suggest the presence of sidereal time indications, it is used with more poetic and symbolic purposes in mind. Alluding to Abraham-Louis Breguet’s fascination with astronomy, the dial recreates the spectacle of a star-studded night sky. More symbolically, however, the word “tourbillon” chosen by A.L. Breguet to describe the rotation of his regulator was, in turn, inspired by a term used by René Descartes to refer to the whirling systems that propelled planets around the Sun.

Not only is this the first flying tourbillon at Breguet, but it is also the first time in its history that the brand creates an aventurine enamel dial. Naturally, Grand Feu enamel is a house speciality, but combining it with crushed aventurine glass has resulted in a gorgeous, rich blue dial that will retain its lustre and sparkle for aeons.

The compact 38mm Classique case, with a thickness of 10.2mm (due to the tourbillon), is crafted in 18k Breguet gold. Inspired by the gold used by 18th-century watchmakers, this proprietary alloy with a subtle pink hue was developed to commemorate the brand’s 250^th anniversary. Faithful to the Maison’s “unmistakable signs”, the casebands are finely fluted, the lugs are straight and welded, the hours and minutes are off-centred and indicated by open-tipped Breguet hands and of course and the micro-engraved secret signature (spoiler alert: look closely at the chapter ring between 5 and 7 o’clock).

The caseback, tourbillon support and mainplate are decorated with hand-guilloché using the new Quai de l’Horloge pattern. Hidden by the beautiful guilloché bridges is Breguet’s calibre 187M1. This manual-winding tourbillon calibre beating at 18,000vph, with a 50-hour power reserve and 23 jewels, is built around the brand’s long-running tourbillon calibre 588.

Propelling the flying tourbillon into mysterious realms, Breguet’s beautiful Classique Tourbillon Sidéral 7255 is a limited edition of 50 numbered pieces. It retails for CHF 190,000 (incl. tax). More information at breguet.com.