2023-08-23 22:07:54
Lively and marine, the Hora Mundi created for Only Watch recalls Breguet’s decorative know-how and the horological intelligence of its movement
Even if it was not intended for Only Watch, and therefore produced as a unique piece, it would already be a collector’s item and coveted as such. For what ? Because Breguet’s Hora Mundi is the most brilliant multi-timepiece watch of recent years. An invention far from being new (its ancestor, the Ref. 3700, dates from 1996), but constantly revisited to reach, today, a unique degree of maturity thanks to the development of increasingly sophisticated modules.
Extreme simplicity
The piece has been repeatedly explained in unconvincing convolutions, while in reality it is distinguished by the opposite: its extreme simplicity. The Hora Mundi is able to display, on demand, one time zone or another. The user chooses for example London as the first time zone, and Hong Kong as the second time zone. By pressing the pusher at 8 o’clock, the Hora Mundi shows him one or the other, at his convenience. The piece no longer has a disc to turn, an additional needle, multiple windows, nor does it require any mental calculations.
Marine Hora Mundi x Only Watch © Breguet
On-board intelligence
Presented in this way, the exercise takes on the force of evidence. It nevertheless reflects a fundamental approach on the part of Breguet: all the intelligence associated with the games between the time zones is transferred to the watch. It is no longer up to the customer to make conversions, adjustments, or play the crown. The Hora Mundi is a really smart watch. And a very beautiful connected watch…in the tradition.
Because this reference 5557 (in the catalogue) which has become 5555 (unique piece for Only Watch) once again allows the artistic talents of the Manufacture to be deployed. Taking advantage of a Monegasque sale, the Ref. 5555 Only Watch fully plays the open sea card. The “waves” motif that crosses the dial is highlighted by a bright and sparkling azure blue like sea spray. Each index is supported by red luminescent inserts that can also be found at the tip of the hands as well as on the anchor located at 6 o’clock, indicating the city whose time zone is currently displayed. A nod to the Monegasque Association against Myopathies, the city of Paris has been replaced by the Principality of Monaco, also in red.
Marine Hora Mundi x Only Watch © Breguet
Cartographic accuracy
Another novelty: work on the continents. They are here midnight blue, on a sapphire plate, and dotted with gold-colored dots, recreating the vision that one would have of the Earth, at night, seen from space. Breguet has chosen an equatorial azimuthal projection: it is the equator which is at the center of the dial, drawing an imaginary median line from 9 o’clock to 3 o’clock.
For the surfaces occupied by the continents, it approximates a projection of the Gall–Peters type, the first having been a contemporary of Abraham-Louis Breguet (James Gall, 1808-1895) The advantage of this projection is to reproduce the proportions actually covered by the continents on the surface of the Earth, while the Mercator projection, to which we are more accustomed, tends to increase their extent as they move away from the equator. Finally, the last detail, the finish of the date with a light scrambled treatment, an old watch decoration brought up to date which allows obtaining an effect that is both matte and shiny, like the 44 mm case. in pink gold, alternating polished and satin finishes.
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#Breguet #Monaco #Mundi #Worldtempus