Following the Classique Souscription, and Tradition Seconde Rétrograde, Breguet continues its 250th anniversary roll-out by turning to its signature pilot’s watch.

The Type XX Chronographe 2075BH debuts in two variants in “Breguet gold”: a regular production with a black aluminium dial and a 250-piece limited edition with a sterling silver dial. Both are handsome and stay mostly true to the model’s heritage thanks to faithful sizing and a manually-wound movement.

The regular production with a black aluminium dial (left), and sterling silver dial of the limited edition

Initial Thoughts

The new Type XX ticks many of the boxes from an enthusiast’s perspective with its compact dial and concise dial that does without a date and hour totalizer – both welcome reductions to the first-generation design.

That said, the Breguet gold case is limiting due to the price. A stainless steel case would’ve been even more appreciated, though that will probably arrive in due time.

While the cal. 7278/7279 in the new Type XX is technically excellent – like most Breguet calibres – the thoroughly modern construction doesn’t complement the vintage-inspired design. Adapting the cal. 582 used in the 1990s Type XX might have been more interesting due to its lateral clutch construction and increasingly rare cam-control system, though the cal. 7278/7279 reads better on a spec sheet with its vertical clutch.

And to preserve the vintage feel, a solid, hand-engraved case back might’ve been a better option than the engraved movement, which feels little much for what is ostensibly a pilot’s watch.

Neither watch is affordable at US$43,500 for the black dial and $45,200 for the silver dial, but the pricing is reasonable compared to precious metal chronographs from comparable high-end brands, reflecting the brand’s generally competitive pricing.

Case and Dial

The case is 38.3 mm in diameter, exactly the same as the rare “civilian” Type XX in 18k gold from 1955. Appropriately enough, the modern-day watch is in “Breguet Gold”, the brand’s proprietary yellow gold alloy, just like the other 250th anniversary models. It retains the familiar Type 20 design with blended “lyre” lugs, pump pushers, an oversized crown, and a slim rotating bezel.

One of the rare few Type XXs in gold

Two dials are available, both sharing the same case.

One is for the regular production model, a black aluminium dial that supposed to reference the aluminium-bodied aircraft of Louis Breguet – an aviator entrepreneur who as Abraham-Louis Breguet’s great-great-grandson. The aluminium dial is paired with an extra-legible, oversized 15-minute totalizer, nicknamed “Big Eye”, and fully lumed, including the 15-minute counter.

The second is for the 250 piece limited edition, a dial in solid silver is more accurate to the original 1955 watch, though it looks more modern with its colour and markings that includes an italicised “retour en vol” over six o’clock. The silver dial only has lumed hands and a conventional 30-minute counter at three.

Movement

The regular production Type XX is powered by the cal. 7279, while the limited edition is equipped with the cal. 7278, with the sole difference being the minute counter. The movements are part of a family of high-beat, vertical clutch fly-back chronograph movements shared between the increasingly integrated Breguet and Blancpain brands.

The cal. 7278/7279 its an impressive movement on paper, with a silicon hairspring and silicon components in the escapement. The 5 Hz beat rate is also much appreciated in a chronograph, even if 2.5 Hz would have been more apt thematically given the vintage inspiration of the watch.

In this manually wound iteration, the movement is only 6 mm thick, about half a millimeter slimmer than you’d find in a Rolex Daytona, though the case still ends up over 13 mm in height – which is thick for a manual-wind chronograph.

Much of that height can be blamed on the vintage bubble-like sapphire crystal and overly tall hand stack. The domed crystal, however, does add to the vintage appeal of the watch.

Visually, the calibre is not a particularly interesting as most of the chronograph works are obscured by a plate.

However, the monolithic plate has been used as a canvas for a hand-engraved depiction of the Breguet 19 airplane designed by Louis Breguet, which also helps the watch feel “special” enough to be a 250th anniversary piece.

Key facts and price

Breguet Type XX Chronograph
Ref. 2075BH/99/398

Diameter: 38.3 mm
Height: 13.2 mm
Material: 18k “Breguet gold”
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 50 m

Dial: Black aluminum

Movement: Cal. 7279
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, and fly-back chronograph
Winding: Manual
Power reserve: 60 hours

Strap: Interchangeable, gradient blue calfskin and 18K Breguet gold pin buckle

Limited edition: No
Availability: Now at Breguet boutiques and retailers
Price: CHF36,500

Breguet Type XX Chronographe Limited Edition
Ref. 2075BH/G9/398

Diameter: 38.3 mm
Height: 13.2 mm
Material: 18k “Breguet gold”
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 50 m

Dial: Solid silver

Movement: Cal. 7278
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, and fly-back chronograph
Winding: Manual
Power reserve: 60 hours

Strap: Interchangeable, gradient blue calfskin and 18K Breguet gold pin buckle

Limited edition: 250 pieces
Availability: Now at Breguet boutiques and retailers
Price: CHF38,000

For more, visit breguet.com

J.N. Shapiro’s Infinity Series Pure is a new entry point into the American brand. This follows the top-of-the-line Resurgence, the most American-made mechanical wristwatch built since Hamilton shut down in the 1960s.

This new model focuses purely on the dial and hands, which are excellent, while trusting Swiss suppliers with ancillary details like the case and caliber. The result is a much more accessible, though less impressive, watch than J.N. Shapiro’s usual fare.

Initial Thoughts

When the original Infinity line was discontinued in 2023, it left the brand without an entry-level watch, and the company put all of its efforts behind the ambitious Resurgence project. Now that things have settled down, the team once again has the bandwidth to support a second model.

The Infinity Series Pure uses an off-the-shelf La Joux-Perret (LJP) movement. While a good, slim movement with an extended power reserve, the LJP F200/7380 isn’t particularly premium, and a downgrade from the UWD cal. 33.1 used in previous infinity models. For example, Ralph Lauren uses the LJP movement in its Vintage 67 line priced at around US$3,000.

The case is also outsourced, likely to a Swiss manufacturer, through the Alternative Horological Alliance (AHA), a consortium of independent brands that J.N. Shapiro helped found. This focuses all of Shapiro’s attention on the dial and hands, though both are significantly less complex than on the Resurgence.

At US$26,000 the Infinity Series Pure is about a third the price of the Resurgence watches. It’s a low volume creation – 32 will be made in total – and matched with the high cost of American labor, making the price palatable.

Besides the difference in cost, the six to nine-month expected lead time of the Infinity Series Pure is far lower than the projected three years for a Resurgence. The Resurgence is worth the wait for sure, but if you have one on order, the Infinity Series Pure may be worth a look to tide you over in the meantime.

Dial and Hands

The dial is turned in J.N. Shapiro’s California workshop using a traditional rose engine and straight-line machines. It bears the brand’s signature “Infinity Weave” pattern within the seconds sub-dial, which is a basket weave pattern nested inside a basket weave pattern. The brand claims it’s the most complex guilloché pattern in the industry, which is probably true.

There are two colourways, the first with rose gold hands on a silver dial, the second with white gold hands against a blackened zirconium dial. The graduations on both are cut into the dial and filled with black lacquer for contrast.

The specular polished shafts of the Breguet-like hands are impressively rounded and are sculpted from a block of material, not vaulted sheet metal.

While there is nothing wrong with the seconds hand, which carries an infinity counterweight, it does look rather plain compared to the hour and minutes hands.

Case and Caliber

The 37 mm stainless steel case is relatively tall on paper for a manually wound three-hand watch at almost nine millimeters; however, without the crystal, it’s only 7.4 mm thick, making it wear more slender than the specs would suggest.

J.N. Shapiro (correctly) chose to conceal the unassuming caliber behind an engine turned and hand-engraved case back.

Inside is a La Joux-Perret caliber F200 (formerly known as the LJP7380), a slim manually wound movement with an impressive longevity of 90 hours from two barrels.

The caliber has gained ground as a larger alternative to the ETA Peseux 7001. It lacks stop-seconds, though that would probably feel out of place on this style of watch anyway.

Key Facts and Price

J.N. Shapiro Infinity Series Pure

Diameter: 37 mm
Height: 8.8 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Dial: Frosted silver or blackened zirconium
Water-resistance: 50 m

Movement: La Joux-Perret caliber F200
Functions: Hours, minutes, and seconds
Winding: Hand-wind
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Power reserve: 90 hours

Strap: Alligator leather

Limited edition: Yes, 18 watches per configuration
Availability: Direct from J.N. Shapiro
Price: US$26,000

For more, visit Jnshapiro.com.