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 39 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k
Reference 55311OR.96
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Breguet
- Collection
- Type XX
- Model
- Breguet Type XX 39 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k
- Reference number
- 55311OR.96
- Year / era
- 1965 · 1960s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Tourbillon
- Movement
- In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Dial type
- Mother-of-pearl
- Strap / bracelet
- Rubber strap with titanium clasp
- Water resistance
- 50 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 39 mm
- Case thickness
- 9.4 mm
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Bezel
- Baguette diamond rainbow
- Crystal
- Anti-reflective sapphire, double-domed
- Dial
- Mother-of-pearl
- Hands
- Rhodium-plated baton hands with luminous fill
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- Rubber strap with titanium clasp
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 50 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 26A — In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor
- Movement type
- Manual-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 65 hours
- Number of jewels
- 31 jewels
- Complications
- Tourbillon
- Functions
- Perpetual calendar, leap year
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1965 – 1972
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Consistently trades above retail; waiting lists at authorised dealers remain long.
Designer
Jörg Hysek
Jörg Hysek left Rolex and Seiko's European studios to build a design practice in Geneva, giving houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Seiko and TAG Heuer their sculptural, architecture-led cases before founding his own brand, HD3.
Historical significance
Breguet Type XX 39 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k sits within Breguet's Type XX line, introduced in 1965. It carries the house codes established since 1775 — 18k rose gold case, mother-of-pearl dial and in-house automatic with 22k gold rotor — 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 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.