Sameera Gamage 
A tribute to 250 years of timeless craftsmanship, the Classique Souscription 2025 is Breguet’s past, present, and future in one elegant timepiece!
In the world of fine watchmaking, there are only a handful of names that carry the weight and legacy of Breguet. As the maison celebrates 250 years of horological excellence this year, the brand’s influence on both watch design and mechanical innovation remains undeniable. Founded in 1775 by Abraham Louis Breguet, the brand has not only stood the test of time, but has continued to lead the industry with elegance, precision and timeless designs. The brand’s official 250th anniversary celebrations started on Thursday, the 24th of April this year, with the release of the new Classique Souscription 2025 timepiece.
The Classique Souscription 2025 celebrates Breguet’s 250-year legacy and pursuit of perfection. This timepiece is a throwback to Breguet’s early innovation, with the term “Souscription” appearing as early as 1796 in sales registers, with the single-hand pocket watches then being marketed to the general public as early as 1797. The design of the Souscription is not only unique, but also innovative. During the time of its initial release, watchmaking followed traditional standards of telling the time through hour, minute and second hands. However, Breguet’s Souscription model changed that, displaying the time through an unconventional single hand on the dial.
The Souscription pocket watch was made to be simple, reliable and also relatively affordable, so that Breguet could offer it to a wider audience than his usual elite clientele at the time. Just like the timepiece itself, it was given the name Souscription, which refers to an innovative business model that Breguet used: the customers would pay a quarter of the price upfront to reserve the timepiece, with the remainder due upon delivery. This is standard practice in modern day. Still, during Breguet’s time, this was a revolutionary way of purchasing luxury goods, especially if one couldn’t pay for the piece immediately or if they wanted to reserve the watch. For Breguet, this helped fund production with the initial deposits, while also creating excitement and accessibility around his work.
Now, as part of Breguet’s 250th anniversary celebrations, the brand is delving back to its roots to recreate this revolutionary timepiece in modern-day watchmaking standards.
Case Design
While the new Classique Souscription 2025 retains the same original pocket watch design, Breguet has still been able to innovate with the timepiece. In a fitting tribute to the brand’s 250th anniversary, Breguet has introduced its own gold alloy: Breguet Gold. This blonde precious metal combines gold, silver, copper and palladium.
Breguet has also done away with their traditional case aesthetics to create a new design that stands apart beautifully from the brand’s other timepeices. Paying particular attention to the ergonomics of the case design, it measures 40mm in diameter, with a thickness of only 10.8mm. The Breguet fluting that we are accustomed to seeing has been replaced by a delicately satin-brushed case middle, which adheres to the style of the original pocket watch that inspired the Classique Souscription 2025. The new ergonomic design sees the lugs of the case curved to fit the wrist better, while also offering a more fluid appearance than the traditional straight lugs.
Dial Design
The Classique Souscription 2025’s dial showcases all the classic features of Breguet. Firstly, we get the Arabic numerals in signature Breguet styling, followed by the classic one-tipped Breguet hand, which has been flame-blued and curved entirely by hand. The backdrop is a beautifully immaculate white enamel dial, which perfectly contrasts the indices and the Breguet hand.
You may be wondering at this point how one reads the time, with only a single hand on display? Well, its an ingenious yet simple design that reads both the minutes and hours with a single hand. Between each hour marker, there are smaller line markings along the minute track, with each line representing a 5-minute increment. While not precise to the exact minute, this clever layout allows the wearer to read the time with an accuracy of up to 5 minutes, more than sufficient for daily use at the time when this design was first released.
Movement
The beating heart of the Classique Souscription 2025 is the new VS00 calibre movement, crafted in glided brass in the same shade as the Breguet Gold case. While the dial retains a simple and elegant look, the case back is where the mechanical art and complexity of the timepiece are displayed. The VS00 movement is the result of a complex and demanding development process, operating at a frequency of 3Hz (21,600 VpH) while delivering a staggering 4-day power reserve.
While the mechanics of the movement are certainly impressive, the aesthetic design is just as eye-catching. The plate and bridges of the movement have been finely shot-blasted. This is a new decoration that has been directly inspired by the movements of Abraham Louis Breguet. The caseback decoration also celebrates the art of guilloché, with Breguet proudly displaying their newly developed guilloché pattern, unveiled this year, called Quai de l’Horloge.
Another standout feature of the movement is the large central ratchet wheel, which features a beautifully engraved inscription: the founder’s words taken from a Breguet advertising brochure, explaining the design of the Souscription movement!
Initial Thoughts
In reimagining one of Abraham-Louis Breguet’s most accessible and forward-thinking designs, Breguet has struck a fine balance between historical appreciation and modern refinement and innovation. This is a timepiece that speaks not just to collectors but also to those who appreciate classic watchmaking done right.
The Breguet Classic Souscription 2025 has taken the Souscription of the past, and elevated it to meet today’s standard without losing the charm and essence of the original. From the newly ergonomically refined case design donned in the new proprietary Breguet Gold material, the elegant enamel dial with its simplistic display, to the impressive movement with its new Quai de l’Horloge guilloché pattern, every element feels purposeful and beautifully considered. As Breguet marks 250 years of horological excellence, the Classique Souscription 2025 is a tribute not only to the brand’s founder but to the enduring spirit of innovation that has defined the maison since 1775.
Specification: Classique Souscription 2025 (2025BH/28/9W6)
- Dimensions: 40mm x 10.8mm thick
- Case Material: 18K Breguet gold
- Dial: White grand feu enamel on gold base. Black petit feu enamel Breguet signature, Breguet Arabic numerals and flame-blued Breguet hand
- Movement: In-house manual-wound Calibre VS00
- Movement Power reserve: 96 hours (4 days) operating at 3Hz (21,600 VpH)
- Crystal: Sapphire with antireflective coating on both sides.
- Bracelet/Strap: Navy blue large-scaled alligator leather with 18K Breguet Gold pin buckle.
