From the shape of the bridges to the pare-chute shock-absorber system, as well as the size of the balance and wheels, all components of the new Tradition Quantième Rétrograde 7597 are implicitly inspired by the souscription and tact watches created by Abraham-Louis Breguet.
Launched in 1797, the souscription was equipped with a single hand for reading the hours and minutes. The design of this refined yet minimalist timepiece was avant-garde for its era, as was its concept, since a quarter of the price had to be paid when the order was placed.
The same calibre was used by Breguet to design the first tact watches, which allowed checking the time by touching the arrow or hour hand turning on the outside of the case and comparing its position with the raised hour-markers on the caseband.
The Tradition collection launched in 2005 presents all the movement's organs on the dial side.
The Tradition Quantième Rétrograde 7597 displays a strong contrast between the anthracite-clad movement and monochrome blue applied to the dial featuring a hand-guilloché "Clous de Paris" motif, traditional Roman numerals and open-tipped hands.
The retrograde date spreads out over 180 degrees and is covered with a blue coating echoing the shade of the dial. To ensure a smooth sweep over the mechanism, the distance between the centre and the date sector required the development of a multi-level blued steel hand.
The 40mm white gold case houses the 505Q self-winding movement with a 50-hour power reserve.
