Breguet is updating its perpetual calendar with the new Classique Quantième Perpétuel 7327. It’ll succeed the long-standing ref. 5327 that’s been in Breguet’s collection since 2004. The new reference simplifies Breguet’s perpetual calendar, but it still looks classically Breguet.
Like the previous 5327, the new Quantième Perpétuel measures 39mm and 9mm thick, available in an 18-karat white or pink gold case. The main design update is the addition of a retrograde month display at 11 o’clock, which takes the place of a power reserve indicator in the 5327. This means the new perpetual calendar has five sub-displays, not six.
The date indicator at six o’clock has also been enlarged, balancing out the retrograde and making it more readable. Another readily noticeable change is the moonphase indicator: still sitting between two and three o’clock, it does away with its classic engraved cloud motif and man-in-the-moonphase, opting instead for a simpler hand-hammered moon.
Removing the smiling, whimsical moon, not to mention the extra steps required to create it, might come as a disappointment to some, though the new moon does have a charm all its own.
As is typical with Breguet, the dial is solid gold that’s been silvered and finished with guilloche using traditional rose engines. But the guilloche has been simplified: it’s now finished entirely in a single clous de Paris pattern – the previous generation used various guilloche patterns across the sub-displays, giving the dial additional texture and complexity, both in production and in aesthetic.
That said, the hobnail pattern in the updated 7327 does look finer; together, the updates make for a cleaner, simpler dial that’s asymmetrical in the tradition of Breguet. The outer hour scale is brushed, and the Breguet secret signature can be seen engraved on either side of 12 o’clock.
Other elements of the 7327 are also traditionally Breguet – of course, that starts with the blued steel Breguet hands. The midcase features a coin-edge finish, and the long, thin lugs are soldered to the case.
The ref. 7327 is powered by the familiar 502.3.P, an ultra-thin perpetual automatic caliber with a perpetual calendar module. It’s the same base movement used in the previous 5327 (and older ref. 3310 for that matter), but with a modified perpetual calendar module that accommodates the updated dial design.
While the previous 5327 was beautifully engraved and featured a skeletonized gold rotor, that’s also been retired for more traditional and simple finishing in the updated 7327. The updated 502.3.P does come with a few other technical upgrades, including a free-sprung balance wheel and a silicon hairspring.
-Hodinkee
