Of the brand new crop of Breguet Marine watches, this straightforward three-hand Marine 5517 in titanium is my favourite choice (right here because the ref. 5517TI/G2/TZ0 with the matching bracelet). aBlogtoWatch first coated the debut of the Breguet Marine 5517 watch right here, and at this time I’m going hands-on with this attention-grabbing and high-end informal Swiss watch that has a number of particulars to debate.
Breguet just lately re-introduced its necessary Marine assortment. The high-end to daily-casual Marine assortment was at all times about marrying Breguet’s wealthy historical past of high-quality watchmaking with the trendiness of a marine-world themed causal sport watch. Between the Marine and the Kind XX assortment, Breguet has at all times had the potential to create excellent sport watches — once they put their thoughts to it. The excellent news is that, transferring ahead, we now have been informed that Breguet will nonetheless, certainly, deal with sport watches in an even bigger approach.
Final yr, Breguet debuted the refreshed Marine watch assortment with the Marine 5527 Chronograph on a strap (aBlogtoWatch hands-on right here). That mannequin is expounded to this Marine 5517, because it has the identical shade dial and is a part of the identical household, however I occur to love the three-hand mannequin extra, if solely as a result of the dial is extra symmetrical in design (the chronograph is “lop-sided,” thanks to at least one bigger subdial).
Breguet’s problem with the Marine is important. Because the timepiece collector world continues its fascination with different high-end marine-theme watches, such because the Patek Philippe Nautilus, Vacheron Constantin Abroad, and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the Breguet Marine isn’t sometimes a part of the identical dialog. From a high quality and heritage degree, it ought to be. So what’s holding the Breguet Marine again? In my view, it’s partly as a consequence of poor advertising — however extra instantly, as a result of the Marine watch isn’t distinctive sufficient, per se. What do I imply by this? Effectively, when you see a Royal Oak throughout the room, you recognize what it’s. Even a semi-trained eye can pick a Royal Oak in a crowd due to the distinctive form of the case. Breguet’s downside is that, proper now, the Marine doesn’t have that consciousness energy.
The best technique to resolve that downside is by making the Marine look very visually distinctive. A extra long-term technique to deal with that problem is to remind customers, by an ongoing advertising marketing campaign, what qualities the Breguet Marine has and why it ought to be regarded any time somebody desires a daily-wear luxurious way of life watch.
In execution, the Breguet Marine 5517 is usually an exquisite watch. A skilled eye will instantly discover a number of high-quality particulars the second the watch is placed on the wrist. Firstly is the unbelievable mild weight of the grade 5 titanium case and bracelet. Breguet machines the titanium so effectively, and its barely grey shade matches the dial very properly. At 40mm-wide, the case wears very comfortably, even when it’s a bit thicker than the competitors at 11.5mm-thick. Case water resistance is nice at 100 meters. Little touches such because the gently articulating lugs (for sporting consolation) actually do assist separate the Marine in a category of its personal in the case of total engineering effort for all of the watch’s elements.
The bracelet itself has a easy three-link design however is totally of welcome particulars. Look along side the bracelet to note how most hyperlinks don’t have screw holes. Reasonably, Breguet developed a system with a securing mechanism for the hyperlinks utilizing a screw situated on the within of the bracelet. Additionally be aware the fold-over deployant clasp. It would look commonplace, however Breguet developed a completely new deployant with elegant pushers that appears and feels excellent to function. All that’s lacking within the bracelet for my part is a micro-adjust system (although I’m not certain it might be needed).
After I first mentioned the Marine 5527 Chronograph, I expressed a little bit of confusion as to what Breguet was attempting to do with the hour markers. They’re Roman numerals with filled-in luminant, which makes them a bit tough to identify for what they’re. On the chronograph, they regarded a bit extra misplaced than on the three-hand 5517 model of the Marine. With this cleaner dial, I can, in the beginning, admire the stunning arms (although they nonetheless remind me of Baume & Mercier), and eventually the hour markers really feel a bit extra acceptable on the general design. The dial detailing itself is immaculate, together with the fantastically sculpted date window, properly polished arms, and the sunburst ending on the anthracite-colored dial which emanates not from the dial middle, however from the place of the emblem below 12 o’clock.
Certainly one of my favourite case design particulars is the “wavy” crown guard. The opposite, in fact, is the motion. Hand-finishing on the automated rotor is a pleasant trace as to the extent of craft Breguet dedicates to its watches. For those who put all the pieces on paper, the worth of the Breguet Marine is smart, even whether it is definitely premium in its positioning. The motion is the in-house-made Breguet caliber 777A, and it operates at 4Hz (28,800 bp) with 55 hours of energy reserve. It options silicon elements for the regulation system, together with the steadiness spring, in addition to the escapement. The 179 half motion is splendidly well-polished and, as I mentioned above, the 18ok gold rotor design is simply the icing on the cake. Features for the automated motion are the time with the date.
For now, if you’d like a Breguet Marine watch on a bracelet, the titanium fashions would be the solely ones accessible. This contains this three-hand Breguet Marine 5517, but in addition the Marine Chronograph and the Marine Alarm. Every include the identical shade grey dial and an identical titanium case and bracelet mixture. Good-looking and cozy, the Breguet Marine 5517 is a stable day by day put on for somebody who likes the emotion that donning a Breguet provides them. From an engineering an execution perspective, the most recent Marine is an excellent product. Breguet might want to spend money on the advertising the gathering for some time. I hope that they admire that it took manufacturers like Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe a long time to popularize their competitor watches, and so they take pleasure in having the ability to trip on the Gerald Genta title.
To Breguet’s credit score, it’s in all probability probably the most “professional” model in the case of producing conventional timepieces, and the Marine 5517 is definitely in its personal class in the case of luxurious titanium sport watch high quality and poise. By additional enjoying with the dial, and maybe discovering methods for the bracelet to look a bit extra distinctive, Breguet can simply achieve market share the place it deserves to within the high-end way of life sport watch house. Worth for this Breguet Marine 5517 reference 5517TI/G2/TZ0 in titanium on the matching titanium bracelet is $19,900 USD. Be taught extra on the Breguet web site right here.
