Breguet Marine Hora Mundi a Different GMT Watch
Revealed to the world for the first time in 2011 and included in the Breguet Classique Collection, Hora Mundi, as its name reveals, offers a dual time zone as its main dish, however during the eleven years of maturation a lot has changed and today the watch still keeps its nature is quite different from its older brother and integrated into the brand’s Marine Collection.
This latest version, which was launched at the beginning of the year during Watches And Wonders, which took three years to develop, and has four patents, has two variants, one in white gold and the other in yellow gold, a larger case, measuring 43.9mm in diameter by 18.8mm thick and also now has a greater water resistance capacity, for an appreciable 100m that fits better in the collection in which it is inserted.
The imposing gold case features a fluted side profile, solid hide lugs, the main crown at 3 o’clock with crown guards, a second (push) crown at 8 o’clock and sapphire glass on the front and case back.
The dial-in shades of blue present an almost three-dimensional configuration with an ocean waves pattern in hand-applied guilloche background and a transparent sapphire disk that serves as the basis for a world map decoration composed of silver continents, parallels and meridians, Roman hour indexes and central hour hands filled with luminescent material. On the dial we can still find, a Sun and Moon aperture at 4 o’clock that provides the indication of day/night, a city display at 6 o’clock that indicates the time of the selected city that is preceded by an anchor, and finally a date display at 12 o’clock.
Unlike common GMT watches, the Breguet Hora Mundi does not come with an additional central GMT hand, but rather with a mechanism that allows the watch, through the single central hour hand, to switch between two zones (local time and home time zones) via a simple click on the button.
But how does this work? Despite the fact that the technical point of view is a very ingenious internal mechanism for the end user that is quite simple to use. The first step is to define the home city using the crown at 8 o’clock and then, now using the crown at 3 hours, to set the time and the indication day/night, and with these simple steps, the first part is complete. The second step is even easier, using the crown again at 8 o’clock it is necessary to define a second-time zone (city) now without the need to use the crown at 3 o’clock because as you turn the crown at 8 o’clock jumping from the city by city, the time and the day/night indicator update automatically. The last act, once the two time zones (cities) have been defined, is to press the crown at 8 o’clock, which will automatically display the time and day/night indicator alternately between the two selected cities.
Inside, the In-house automatic movement Caliber 77F1 operates, featuring a silicon escapement that makes it more resistant to magnetic fields and corrosion. Operating at 28,800 Vph and offering up to 55 hours of power reserve. All of this can be observed through the open case back whose mechanism is elegantly adorned with Côtes de Genève, guilloche and a snailed finish.
The watch can be purchased with three different strap options, including a blue rubber strap, a blue leather strap or a gold bracelet matching the case.
The Marine Hora Mundi 5557 can be purchased at the brand’s official boutiques, with prices starting at CHF 71,000 for the strap option.
More information at www.breguet.com.
General Specifications:
Brand: Breguet
Model: Marine Hora Mundi
Reference: 5557BB/YS (white gold); 5557BR/YS (yellow gold)
Dial: Blue dial
Case Material: White gold, yellow gold
Case Dimensions: 43.9 mm diameter, 13.8 mm thick
Crystal: Sapphire Glass
Case Back: Sapphire Glass
Water Resistance: 100m
Strap: Blue rubber strap, blue alligator leather strap, gold bracelet matching the case
Caliber: Breguet 77F1
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, sun and moon aperture, city display, gmt
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 4 Hz (28,800 Vph)
Components: 384
Power Reserve: 55 Hours
Price: CHF 71,000 on strap
Limited Edition: No
