Inside the New Breguet Tradition Collection: Five Contemporary Masterpieces Revealed

There are timepieces, and then there is Breguet, which, rather like a finely engineered V12 engine, seem to operate on an entirely different level of cleverness. Now, in 2026, Breguet has decided to take its Tradition collection, already one of the most recognisable pieces of horological theatre, and give it a proper going over. Not a mild tweak, not a polite refresh, but a full blown reminder of why it exists in the first place. The whole point of the Tradition line has always been to put the movement on display, front and centre, as if the timepiece has been turned inside out for your amusement, and these new novelties double down on that idea with admirable confidence. You have references like the 7037 and 7097 introducing retrograde small seconds, which is a delightfully eccentric way of doing something as simple as counting time, the 7038 adding a bit of sparkle for those who like their mechanics with a side of glamour, and the 7067 bringing in dual time functionality for the sort of person who is never quite in the same place twice. It is, in essence, a celebration of everything that makes Breguet what it is, past, present, and just a hint of the future, all ticking away in full view.

Tradition Seconde Retrograde 7037BB/YB/5V6 and 7037PT/N9/5V6

The Breguet Tradition 7037 is what happens when restraint is taken seriously, and then pushed to the point where it becomes rather brilliant. At first glance, it seems almost disarmingly simple, a 38mm fluted case with welded lugs, a crown at 3 o’clock in white gold and a polished bezel. But then you look closer, and the entire dial opens up like the back of a finely engineered machine, revealing a movement that has been finished in an arresting shade of blue, with a shot blasted mainplate, satin brushed bridges, and a snailed barrel cover, all hand finished to within an inch of perfection. There are a pair of blued steel, open tipped hands for hours and minutes, and an 18k white gold retrograde seconds hand quietly sweeping away at 10 o’clock, just to remind you that something mechanical and rather clever is happening beneath the surface.

Sitting at 12 o’clock is a Grand Feu enamel dial, crisp and white, now adorned with Arabic numerals. Turn it over, and the story continues with a platinum oscillating weight, shaped in that familiar half moon style, a nod to the earliest self winding mechanisms that Breguet himself pioneered. Inside beats the calibre 505 SR, ticking at a steady 3 hertz with a silicon balance spring and a respectable 50-hour power reserve. It is paired with a blue rubber strap that looks like leather but behaves far more sensibly, because even something this steeped in history is allowed a bit of modern thinking.

The next model is also sized at 38mm with a platinum case, welded lugs, and a crown at 3 o’clock. The only difference remains it has a black movement and black Grand Feu enamel dial with white Arabic hour markers.

Tradition GMT 7067

The Breguet Tradition GMT 7067 is what happens when Breguet decides that telling time in one place is simply not ambitious enough. At first glance, it carries the familiar inside out theatre of the Tradition line, but then you notice something rather extraordinary at 12 o’clock, a Grand Feu enamel dial that shifts from a deep pine green at its centre to an inky black at the edges, a gradient so precise it feels less like craftsmanship and more like controlled alchemy. Achieving this is not a matter of luck but of relentless expertise, with enamel powders, firing temperatures, and timing all orchestrated with surgical precision. Beneath this sits the mechanical spectacle, where local time takes centre stage while a secondary dial at 8 o’clock keeps track of home time, accompanied by a discreet day-night indicator at 10 o’clock, because clearly this is a timepiece built for people who do not stay in one place for very long. The GMT function is adjustable via a pusher at 10 o’clock.

You can even have the home time displayed in either Arabic or Oriental numerals, a charming nod to Breguet’s historic commissions for the Ottoman Empire, proving once again that what feels novel today was already being done properly two centuries ago. The 40mm platinum case is fluted and substantial, houses the manually wound calibre 507DRF, ticking away at 3 hertz with a 50-hour power reserve, its black coated bridges providing a dramatic contrast to the dial above. And then, in a final flourish of modern sensibility, it is strapped to a black rubber strap with green stitching, which sounds slightly rebellious for something this steeped in history, but works rather brilliantly.

Tradition Seconde Rétrograde 7038

The Breguet Tradition Seconde Rétrograde 7038 is what happens when someone at Breguet decides that mechanical brilliance on its own is simply not enough, and that it ought to sparkle while it is at it. At first glance, you are greeted by a 37mm white gold case, rhodium plated for good measure, with a bezel set with 58 diamonds that catch the light in a way that is just restrained enough to avoid shouting, but only just. Then you notice the dial, or rather, the lack of anything resembling a conventional one, because what sits at 12 o’clock is a black aventurine surface that glitters like a night sky, dusted with silver toned details that give it a curious sense of depth, as though you could fall into it if you stared long enough. Beneath this, the movement is laid bare in that wonderfully theatrical Tradition fashion, finished in a deep black tone with shotblasted bridges and a barrel cover decorated with a sunburst guilloché pattern that radiates like controlled sunshine.

The hands, in white gold and hollow tipped in that unmistakable Breguet style, glide across this mechanical landscape, while a retrograde seconds hand arcs away at 10 o’clock, adding just the right amount of eccentricity. Turn it over, and the show continues, because the oscillating weight, also finished with a matching guilloché pattern, hovers like a finely engineered sculpture, proving that even the bits you cannot normally see have been given an extraordinary amount of thought. Inside beats the calibre 505SR, ticking along at a steady 3 hertz with a 50-hour power reserve, quietly doing its job while the rest of the watch gets on with being rather fabulous. And then, just to underline the point, it is paired with a black satin strap and a diamond set gold buckle, because if you are going to build something this intricate, you may as well make sure it looks the part from every conceivable angle.

Tradition Seconde Rétrograde 7097

The Breguet Tradition Seconde Rétrograde 7097 is a rather fascinating exercise in restraint, which, as it turns out, is far more difficult than simply throwing everything at a design and hoping for the best. Breguet has not reinvented the wheel here, it has merely polished it, adjusted it, and then quietly made it better in ways that only become apparent when you actually stop and look. At 12 o’clock sits a white Grand Feu enamel dial, bright, pristine, and ever so slightly thicker than its guilloché counterpart, giving the whole thing a bit more presence, as though it has had a proper meal. Each one is fired individually, which means no two are quite the same, and somewhere on that surface lies Breguet’s secret signature, visible only to the wearer, a wonderfully old school idea that feels both exclusive and slightly mischievous. Then your eyes wander down to the movement, and this is where things become properly interesting, because instead of a uniform finish, you are met with a deliberate clash of textures and colours. A charcoal grey barrel cover sits boldly against the white dial, while rose gilt gears and the balance wheel bring warmth into the mix, creating a mechanical landscape where every component seems to know exactly what role it plays. The retrograde seconds hand at 10 o’clock sweeps across its arc with quiet confidence, set against a finely finished gold segment to ensure you can actually read it, which is always helpful.

At 4 o’clock sits the pare chute shock absorber, one of Breguet’s greatest hits, still doing the sensible job of protecting the balance staff from life’s little knocks. All of this is housed in a 40mm rose gold case, welded lugs, polished bezel, and a crown at 3 o’clock. The calibre 505 SR1 ticking away inside at a steady pace, delivering a 50-hour power reserve and powered by a white gold oscillating weight that harks back to Breguet’s earliest self winding ideas. It is then strapped to a grey calfskin band, or if you prefer something a bit more modern, a rubber alternative that pretends to be leather, which is rather fitting for a timepiece that so elegantly blends history with just enough contemporary thinking to keep things interesting.