Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Breguet · Type XX
Breguet Type XX 41 mm Black 18k
Reference 45972OR.98
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Breguet
- Collection
- Type XX
- Model
- Breguet Type XX 41 mm Black 18k
- Reference number
- 45972OR.98
- Year / era
- 1953 · 1950s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Time only
- Movement
- In-house tourbillon, manual-winding
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Dial type
- Black lacquer
- Strap / bracelet
- Rubber strap with titanium clasp
- Water resistance
- 100 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 41 mm
- Case thickness
- 10.2 mm
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Bezel
- Octagonal with 8 hexagonal screws
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Black lacquer
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Printed minute track with applied batons
- Bracelet / strap
- Rubber strap with titanium clasp
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 100 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 2F — In-house tourbillon, manual-winding
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 45 hours
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- Time only
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1953 – 1969
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Breguet Type XX 41 mm Black 18k sits within Breguet's Type XX line, introduced in 1953. It carries the house codes established since 1775 — 18k yellow gold case, black lacquer dial and in-house tourbillon, manual-winding — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
The House
Breguet
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1775
- Founder
- Abraham-Louis Breguet
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Ultra-Luxury & Haute Horlogerie
- Major collections
- Classique, Marine, Tradition, Type XX, Reine de Naples, Heritage
- Signature technologies
- Anti-magnetic silicon escapement · Proprietary case-hardening and polishing · Composite and ceramic case materials
- Famous movements
- In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor · In-house tourbillon, manual-winding · In-house automatic micro-rotor · In-house manual-winding, hand-finished
- Notable watches
- Breguet Classique 43 mm Meteorite 18k (1974) · Breguet Classique 43 mm Skeletonised Stainless (1996) · Breguet Classique 39 mm Ice Grade (2001) · Breguet Marine 39 mm Ice Ceramic (1980)
Brand history
Breguet has spent more than 251 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Classique, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Abraham-Louis Breguet established Breguet in 1775, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Breguet calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1775
Abraham-Louis Breguet founds Breguet in Switzerland.
1815
Breguet earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Breguet to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Breguet enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Breguet continues to produce Classique, Marine, Tradition and other icons in limited numbers.