Breguet Type XX Chronographe 2067: the blue that speaks to the heart

Even myths have the capacity to evolve. It happens in the world of cars, motorbikes, design and, as is easy to understand, watchmaking. Specifically, we are referring to Breguet’s Type XX, one of the most famous and symbolic pilot’s watches, destined for civil aviation, which last year the Maison part of the Swatch Group relaunched together with its military version, the Type 20. We reported on it in this article, written on the occasion of the great Paris event that saw the presentation of the new versions of the watch. Today, just over a year later, the Type XX is evolving, thanks to new materials: ceramic and pink gold.

We refer you to last year’s article to refresh your memory on the Type XX’s and Type 20’s adventure, two timepieces that have been writing the history of aviator watches since the 1950s. Whether military or civil, both versions have over time become coveted not only by pilots but, above all, by collectors. What has always distinguished them is the number of counters: two on the Type 20, three on the Type XX. The fourth generation of this collection, offered to the public last year, as written above, is renewed in its materials while leaving the watch’s pioneering soul intact.

CERAMICS AND GOLD: NOVELTY AND TRADITION FOR BREGUET

To this adventurous and sporty soul, the new Type XX reference combines an elegant style given by the combination of the pink gold case with the ceramic bezel. A material widely used in watchmaking to make cases, dials and, indeed, bezels, but with this watch, ceramic enters Breguet’s collections for the first time. Unlike rose gold, which is found in several references and which appeared in the Type 20 and Type XX families at their origins.

We are in fact talking about 1955, the year in which the models that inspired the versions launched in June 2023 were released, iconic watches which are at the origins of the collection. Gold was used by Breguet for some very rare examples from 1955, including No. 1780, now on display at the Breguet Museum. A very small series comprising only three gold watches, both Type 20 and Type XX. On the other hand, bezels contrasting with the case – like the one on the watch we are writing about today – entered the collection in the second generation of the Type XX, made in the 1970s, and bore various scales or graduations such as the tachymeter scale or the GMT indication.

THE TYPE XX BLUE DESIGN

On the new reference, the bi-directional graduated rotating bezel in gold has a blue ceramic ring that contrasts with the gold of the case and numerals, accentuating the elegance of the watch and complementing the colour of the dial. Which is also in a beautiful shade of deep blue, accentuated by the soleil finish and the blued motif of the three counters, and nicely contrasted by the applied gold hour markers filled with luminescent material. Precisely in the design of the three counters, this new Type XX, like last year’s Type XX 2067, is inspired by the 1957 Reference 2988; the small seconds are at 9 o’clock, the 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock, and the 15-minute counter at 3 o’clock, in a Big Eye version. The latter has elongated and luminous hour markers every 3 minutes, and is the only one of the three to have a luminescent hand. 

As with the military-inspired Type 20 version, the size of the counters varies to give the dial more dynamism, legibility and depth. The Arabic numerals, hands and triangle on the bezel received a white luminescent treatment and, as on last year’s references, the date window is positioned at 4:30. The rose gold case is 42 mm in diameter and 14.1 mm thick, and has a satin finish that contrasts with the knurling on the bezel and the polished chronograph pushers. 

The crown is polished as well, straight-shaped and without a logo, and has three different setting positions: winding, date correction, and time setting. The pusher at 2 o’clock starts and stops the chronograph, the one at 4 o’clock resets the chronograph and starts it up again in a flash. Because, let’s not forget, this new Type XX is a chronograph with a flyback function.

THE HIGH-FREQUENCY 728 CALIBRE

This latter function is made possible thanks to the manufactured 728 calibre powering the watch, which is visible through the sapphire crystal back. This is the same movement embedded in last year’s references and which took Breguet four years to develop, since it was designed from scratch. It is an integrated automatic chronograph calibre with a vertically engaged column wheel, which starts and resets the chronograph smoothly, without jolts. You can feel it by pressing the start button and the stop, reset, start button.

Both were the subject of further development by Breguet, with the introduction of new patented activation and reset systems. With these systems, the force transmitted to the chronograph mechanism is uniform, whatever the pressure applied to the pushpieces. In this way, the mechanical parts of the calibre are not put under stress, which benefits the greater reliability and resistance of the entire movement. The calibre makes use of the best material technologies developed within the Swatch Group; in fact, the balance spring, escape wheel and anchor lugs are made of silicon, guaranteeing protection against the harmful influences of magnetism.

All this in a high-frequency calibre working at 36,000 vibrations per hour, with a declared autonomy of 60 hours when fully wound, a respectable performance when compared to the 5 Hz frequency that characterises the movement. From an aesthetic point of view, the calibre of the new Type XX is finished in an accurate and elegant manner: soleil work on the bridges, circular snailed finishing, anglage and perlage. The column wheel is clearly visible thanks to its black DLC treatment, the same as the oscillating weight in burnished gold. The latter is shaped like an aircraft seen from the front, a further tribute to the aviation heritage of the Type XX.

BREGUET TYPE XX: FOR CONNOISSEURS ONLY

Whereas the two June 2023 references of the Type XX and Type 20 featured vintage straps, the new model is a rhapsody in blue. In addition to the dial and bezel, it has a blue alligator leather strap and a NATO strap in the same colour, with white stitching. Both are equipped with the quick-change system that is now standard for high-end watches. By pressing buttons located on the lugs the fitted strap can be released; to insert a new leather strap, the slot at the upper end of the strap is positioned at the height of the lugs, forming an angle of 45-60 degrees. The NATO strap is inserted in the usual way between the two bars, passing underneath the case. The box in which the watch is presented is beautiful: made of havana-coloured leather, its shape recalls the profile of an aircraft wing.

Considering last year’s launch with its steel case and ‘traditional’ livery, surely this new blue Type XX is a valid alternative in the collection for those who prefer precious metal. The blue shade, then, underlines the watch’s DNA, which links it to the epic of the great aviators, and brings it closer in prestige and familiarity to other brands’ precious pilot’s watches. The €41,700 price tag correctly positions it in its own segment, reserved for just an exclusive few ­– not so much for the cost as for the culture and passion required to appreciate such a timepiece destined to seduce many hearts.

By Davide Passoni