Breguet Day-Date Moonphase Chinoise Ref 3330

The rebirth of Breguet began in 1970, when brothers Jacques and Pierre Chaumet took over in the hopes of reinvigorating the brand and renewing the connection between the Breguet name and high-end watchmaking. Shortly thereafter, the brothers closed the French factory and moved production to the Vallée de Joux in Switzerland, the epicentre of Swiss watchmaking.

In order to restore the brand to its former glory, Jacques and Pierre would need a Master Watchmaker to help. They approached Daniel Roth, who’d demonstrated his talent over seven years working at Audemars Piguet, which he’d joined as the only watchmaker who didn’t come from Le Brassus, the brand’s historic home. Inspired by the work of the famous watchmaker, Roth agreed to help resuscitate the manufacture, though only after going back to school to further study Breguet’s archives and techniques.

This reference 3330 was created in the early 1990s, as evidenced by the closed caseback, cream dial, and the absence of a reference number on the caseback. Further to this, the dial also only features “Swiss” at the bottom of the hour chapter ring rather than “Swiss Guilloché Main”, as found on later pieces. Separately, the day and date indications on the watch are rendered against a light-yellow gold colour that matches the case.

Overall, the watch features many design cues that were cemented while Daniel Roth worked there, such as the engine-turned dials, coin case, and distinctive blued Breguet hands. Roth’s work within the Breguet archives can be seen from the fact that the piece is reminiscent of a Breguet pocket watch, integrating a traditional dial layout that was rather unconventional for the period. Upon examining the dial layout more closely, we see that the functions are separated, which can be seen from the day and date apertures at 10 and 2 respectively, while the dial features a beautifully hand-turned guilloché dial. The watch is powered by the calibre 502, which is based on the Frederic Piguet calibre 71.

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