bREgUET

THE propEr way To navigaTE THE world

Dan Diaconu

"Form follows function - this has been misunderstood. Form and function must be one, united in a spiritual union". How can this idea of the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) be applied? The Hora Mundi introduced by Breguet in 2011 provides the answer to this question by means of an appropriate display. Its case introduces an important first: a double time zone with memory and an immediate time change. "This was originally a complication presented in the Classique collection. This watch is equipped with a mechanical system that is extremely complex to construct, manufacture, and assemble, yet remarkably simple to use", stressed Lionel a Marca, CEO of Breguet, in an exclusive interview. Conveniently, the complication coordinates a display of two pre-

selected time zones allowing the wearer to switch from one to the other at the touch of a button. This shift applies simultaneously to the date and the day/

"complicaTEd To manufacTurE, complEx To assEmblE, yET pHEnomEnally simplE To usE !"

night time indication. To perfect this technical feat, the watchmakers drew their inspiration from the design of the chronograph by conceiving the reset function as a memory because, "unlike a traditional GMT function, it is only necessary to set the first time zone.

The second time zone automatically sets as soon as the second city is programmed."

After a variation embellished with expert guillochage in the purest

Breguet style in 2016, the design undergoes a radical change this year by integrating the Marine collection under reference 5557. "We required a few adaptations to the movement to make it

THE brEguET TravEl waTcH offErs a nEw counTEnancE for iTs arrival in THE marinE collEcTion.

waTcHEs-nEws.com x brEguET resistant to a ‘sportier’ use. We added the notion of modifying the dial by playing with the depth of a two-dimensional world map on three plates, one of which is a blue guilloche 'wave' base in gold. The choice was then made to go with a sapphire plate on which the underside was metallised with the continents to take advantage of the transparency. The upper side was also plated with longitudes and latitudes, together with the outline of the continents for a different visual effect, plus the 24 small holes for placing the markers. In fact, they appear to be flying. The ensemble is put together with a top piece that interlocks the assembly", explains Lionel a Marca. The resulting composition is stunning without losing an ounce of clarity. The time data remains clearly legible, thanks to the luminescent hands and markers. The date appears at 12 o'clock, while the city selection sits at 6 o'clock. All the information is controlled by the automatic calibre 77F1 with a 55hour power reserve.

Its 43.9x13.8mm case, waterproof to a depth of 100m, is available in white or pink gold. "After numerous tests to finalise the timepiece, we managed to achieve an extremely realistic result with a true aesthetic depth, a sense of the sea... You can examine the Hora Mundi from all angles, and each time you do, you discover something new", remarks Lionel a Marca. The most important part of the journey is the discovery.