Breguet Celebrates 250 Years With The Classique Souscription 2025

To commemorate its 250th anniversary, Breguet introduces the Classique Souscription 2025—a timepiece that reinterprets one of the maison’s most influential creations. Inspired by the original Souscription watches developed by Abraham-Louis Breguet in the late 18th century, this release blends horological history with modern craftsmanship.

The Origins of the Souscription Concept

In the aftermath of the French Revolution, Abraham-Louis Breguet returned to Paris in 1795 and faced a dramatically changed social and economic environment. To adapt, he introduced the Souscription watch—a simplified, robust timekeeper designed to make fine watchmaking more accessible. Customers would pay a 25% deposit (“souscription”) upfront, allowing Breguet to fund production and streamline manufacturing. The watches featured a single central hand and clean, legible dials—hallmarks that carried both functional and aesthetic value. Beyond its mechanical ingenuity, the model pioneered an early form of serialized production and direct marketing, establishing a model that would influence the watch industry for generations.

A Reimagined Case with Historical Depth

The Classique Souscription 2025 continues this legacy with a 40 mm case crafted from a proprietary alloy known as Breguet gold—an 18k blend of gold, silver, copper, and palladium, evoking the materials of historical watchmaking. Instead of the brand’s traditional fluted caseband, it features a refined satin-brushed finish and curved lugs for ergonomic wear. A chevé-profile sapphire crystal caps the watch, offering a gentle edge curvature in homage to historic designs.

Enamel Dial with Singular Focus

Under the crystal lies a white grand feu enamel dial, marked by slim black petit feu Breguet numerals, a railway minute track, and a lone flame-blued pomme hand, hand-polished to a mirror finish. This single-hand display is both a nod to the original Souscription design and a celebration of minimalistic legibility. A secret signature engraved with an 18th-century diamond-point pantograph—acquired from the estate of George Daniels—adds a unique historical flourish at 6 o’clock, including the word “Souscription,” a serial number, and the Breguet script logo.

A Modern Manual Movement

Powering the watch is the manually wound Calibre VS00, offering a 96-hour power reserve and operating at 3 Hz. It features a Nivachron balance spring with a Breguet overcoil and blued screws. Around the edge of the movement, a newly developed Quai de l’Horloge guilloché pattern recalls the geometry of Paris’ Île de la Cité. The large engraved ratchet wheel features a historic passage from Breguet’s original advertising material—reproduced in his own handwriting.

Availability and Pricing

The timepiece is paired with a navy blue alligator leather strap, secured with a Breguet gold pin buckle, and delivered in a red Moroccan leather presentation box modeled after Abraham-Louis Breguet’s original travel cases.

The Breguet Classique Souscription 2025 is part of the standard collection and is priced at € 53,800.

Final Thoughts

A watch that celebrates the brand’s important 250th anniversary milestone, inspired by the original pocket watch subscription program, is undeniably nostalgic and speaks to the hearts of horology enthusiasts. Still, it’s impossible not to pause at the departure from some of Breguet’s most recognizable design codes—most notably, the absence of the iconic coin-edge case profile and the stark simplicity of the dial, made even more dramatic by the use of a single pomme hand. Even the generous 40mm diameter might challenge traditionalists. But as the saying goes, “first you snub it, then you glug it.” Perhaps this is one of those pieces that quietly grows on you—until it doesn’t leave your wrist.

More information at www.breguet.com.

General Specifications:

Brand: Breguet

Model: Classique Souscription 2025

Reference: 2025BH/28/9W6

Dial: White grand feu enamel

Case Material: 18k Breguet gold

Case Dimensions: 40 mm Diameter, 10.80 mm thickness, 48 mm lug-to-lug

Crystal: Sapphire Glass

Case Back: Sapphire Glass

Water Resistance: 30m

Strap: Blue Alligator leather strap with a 18k Breguet gold pin buckle

Caliber: Breguet VS00

Functions: Hours and minutes (by a single hand)

Winding: Manual

Frequency: 3 Hz (21,600 Vph)

Jewels: 21

Power Reserve: 96 Hours

Price: € 53,800

Limited Edition: No