Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces

Hong Kong, Jul 09, 2016

LOT 111

BREGUET TYPE XX CHRONOGRAPH Breguet, Swiss. Case No.B21302. Made in the 1970s. Fine and very rare stainless steel fly-back chronograph wristwatch with 15 minute and 12 hour registers, bi-directional rotating bezel calibrated to 60 minutes.

HKD 94,000 - 140,000

USD 12,100 - 18,000 / CHF 11,980 - 17,875

Sold: HKD 118,750

Three body, polished, screw-down back, grid-pattern crown, bi-directional revolving black bezel, round chronograph pushers, faceted lugs. Matt black with luminous Arabic numerals, outer seconds track with 5 minute block indexes, subsidiary dials for oversize 15 minute register, 12 hour register and running seconds. Luminous white baton hands and oversize luminous 15 minute hand. Cal.726, rhodium plated 17 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, monometallic balance, shock-absorber, self-compensating flat balance spring.


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Grading System
Grade: AA

Very good

Case: 2

Very good

Movement: 2*

Very good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense

Dial: 2-01

Very good

HANDS Original

Notes

Dial, case and movement signed. DIAM. 40 mm. THICKNESS 15 mm. The final version of the famed BREGUET TYPE XX CAL. 726 wristwatch, prior to the 1994 re-release, were available in two versions; those featuring a two register- 60 minute counter using the Valjoux Cal. 725 movement, or a 3 register dial with the addition of a 12-hour counter using the Cal. 726 movement; the 726 was the fly-back version of the Cal.72 found in the Rolex Daytona model. Both movements were fitted within a slightly larger 40.6mm. diameter steel case with matt black rotating bezels. Research would suggest examples of the more complex versions with 12-hour registers were designated by a letter B in front of the 5 digit case number. Although possibly very early production models were assigned for military use, the final version of Breguet aeronautic 'military' chronograph was only available for the civilian market exclusively from the Paris boutique, albeit in relatively limited numbers, from the early 1970's until the 1980's. Apparently only 1,400 Valjoux Cal.725 movements were designated for use by Breguet, with presumably a mere 10 percent of that figure representing the number of three-register Cal. 726 movements ordered.