MILITARY HERITAGE
Produced at the request of the French Air Force in the 1950s and as the result of a double expertise in watchmaking and aeronautics, the chronograph originally designed for pilots is making a remarkable comeback in the form of a timepiece equipped with an exclusive movement.
Its recent return to the watchmaking landscape marks the birth of the 4th generation: the Type 20 Chronographe 2067, presented by Breguet at the beginning of June, retraces the history of a time-measuring instrument originally designed to accompany aviators almost 70 years ago. Indeed, the first version of this watch was produced in 1,100 pieces between 1955 and 1959 at the request of the French Air Force, to be worn by pilots and technicians specializing in aviation, enabling them to, among other things, clock intermediate flight times and check fuel consumption. While this new military-style model, unveiled simultaneously with the Type XX Chronographe 2067, is based on the aesthetic vocabulary of the original, it is driven by a very contemporary mechanism.
The 42mm-diameter and 14.1mm-thick steel case, topped by a fluted rotating bezel engraved with a triangular marker, houses the 7281 caliber, a variation of the 728 developed exclusively for this collection. This automatic 5hz movement with flyback function is wound by a blackened gold oscillating weight, cut out to form the silhouette of an airplane. It comprises 339 components and delivers a 60-hour power reserve via a single barrel.
On the dark face of this Breguet, imposing Arabic numerals coated with soft green Super-LumiNova® bend two large white-lacquered hands displaying the current hours and minutes, a central second hand feeding the large minute totalizer at 3 o’clock, and a small seconds counter at 9 o’clock. To complete this information, a date appears discreetly in white on a black background at 4:30. Thanks to its ingenious interchangeability system, the Type 20 Chronographe 2057 can be worn on the wrist with two strands of calfskin leather or a NATO textile strap, both matching the dial color.
