Breguet

Alfihar
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Twins in arms

When I first became passionate about watches, I knew next to nothing about them.

Back then, there was far less literature on watches than there is today.

It was a pioneering era when, to learn more about a watch, you had to post a photo of it, ask a question on a watch forum, and… wait for someone who knew more—or claimed to know more—to deign to answer you…

Sometimes it was great, and it led to intense and enriching exchanges, exciting and enlightening debates over ideas and hypotheses.

Sometimes because the right words hadn’t been used, or because the question had already been asked… this would trigger reactions that I’ve always found curious: we’d get torn apart, humiliated, and ridiculed

It must be said that on certain forums, particularly French-language ones, there was a certain air of elitism… in a way, you had to be part of the “in-the-know” crowd if you didn’t want to get flamed.

It was around that time that I met Jean-François online (known as Jeff33 on other forums and using a different username here…).

A true enthusiast among enthusiasts, always ready to help and exceptionally kind.

When we turned to the memories of older generations of enthusiasts for our study on the Breguet Type XX marine nationale aéronautique navale, Jean-François was one of the first to respond and contribute to the research.

After interacting online for years on watch forums, we finally got together to discuss about the famous Breguet Marine Nationale.

This week, after decades of chatting on forums, we met up in Bordeaux at his watchmaker’s (Brian - GMT Bordeaux), who also services some of my watches. Also present was Ben, a longtime forum member and the co-founder of Roosterwatches.

After a pleasant lunch, we met up at GMT Bordeaux for a busy afternoon exploring the pieces everyone had brought and discussing watches.

Among all the superb pieces that Jean-François still owns, in addition to a magnificent Mathey Tissot Type XX… there was an equally superb Breguet Type XX, whose case back is unfortunately erased…



Next to mine… it’s hard to see a difference… thus to make sure you don’t pick up the wrong watch, you need to look at the details…

Admittedly, Jean-François’s watch no longer has its pear-shaped crown… like 70% of the French Naval Aviation Type XX watches…

Admittedly, his watch has a civilian-style graduated bezel…. But it must be said that at the time, these modifications were so common that some forum members claimed (wrongly) back then that the model supplied to the naval aviation had a graduated bezel (probably because the watch they owned had one… they’ll know who they are).

But the dial… what a f…. dial: a hooked “7,” an uncut “10,” and “2” and “4” that are less cut than on dials with a straight “7”… the hallmarks of a Breguet Marine Nationale Aeronautique Navale are all there…. And the patina… so close to the one I was lucky enough to find… to the point of mistaking one watch for the other…

The same goes for the hands: the hour and minute hands appear to be entirely consistent with the model delivered in January 1960, with their characteristic sword-shaped design. The sage-leaf hand on the sub-dial at 3 o’clock is also present… admittedly, the hand on the sub-dial at 9 o’clock and the chronograph hand are civilian hands… but these replacements are common on the naval aviation Breguet type XX… here too, some knowledgeable people said at the time on forums that these were the correct hands…

So I decided to take it a step further and open the erased case back…

The anti-magnetic cover is present… another indication that it could be a French Navy watch…

The Incabloc shock protection is there, as is the Breguet balance spring… So this is not an early model with a hooked “7” on the dial… since those models do not have these features… This is yet another factor pointing to the presence of the iconic Aeronalavle model…

Everything pointed in the same direction… the body of evidence was growing… though nothing was certain…

All that remained was to check for any « Rhabillage » numbers inside the caseback (Those famous numbers that Amanico mentioned in his post about the visit of the Breguet museum and our working meeting with Emmanuel)… sometimes there aren’t any, but in this case… there was indeed one, and it matched those typically found on military Breguet watches…

Of course, we still need to find the same number(s) in the Breguet Military Register to turn near certainty into absolute certainty… but my feeling is that there is a very high probability that Jean-Francois’s watch is a new entry to add to our census…

Life is beautiful after all… True to form, Jean François was always there to help enthusiasts on the forums and was one of the first to lend a hand when we embarked on the project to study the Breguet Type XX for the French Navy with Amanico…

Without realizing it… our friendly meeting and our conversation about our respective watches likely led us to discover a new example…

I was happy to have stumbled upon a potential new example to add to our census.

Jean François couldn’t believe it and was even moved by this discovery…

Throughout my life, passion has always been what drives me, because it has this unique ability to create magical moments—and this was definitely one of them…

Having a great time with other enthusiasts and stumbling upon what might be a rare specimen… is cool, isn’t it ?

Stay tuned… more photos are coming, and… we’ll see how the Registre Breguet turns out…

Best Ø