Breguet brings a new face to the classic perpetual calendar.

Analogue perpetual calendars tend to follow familiar designs. There are usually three counters which indicate the date combined with a moonphase display, day, and month. A leap year display may be in the form of a window or secondary hand, most often combined with the month display. Some watch brands may return to an old version with the 48-month display, which represents the leap cycle in one counter.

So when we see a watch with a new take on the perpetual calendar, it’s always interesting to see how it captures all the details of this complication on a wristwatch. Breguet’s Quantième Perpétuel Ref. 7327 does so in a pleasing configuration. The ultra-thin watch uses a combination of retrograde and standard counters to indicate all the information efficiently while retaining the aesthetic codes that date back to Breguet’s own creations.

The Classique collection adheres closely to Breguet’s neoclassical designs, using elements such as the off-centre dial with guilloché à main patterns that the famed watchmaker developed. Earlier versions of the perpetual calendar in the Classique collection include the Ref. 5327, which was introduced in 2004. Nearly 20 years later, the brand has deemed it time to update the look of this model with a simplified interface.

The Ref. 5327 had six sub-dials to indicate the power reserve, moonphase, date, month, leap year, and day of the week. Five of the sub-dials were positioned all around the centre of the watch, where the month display was placed.

The Ref. 7327 cuts down on that by removing the power reserve indicator, focusing attention on the perpetual calendar’s functions. A retrograde month display is positioned between 9 and 12 o’clock, with a moonphase display across from it. The lower half of the dial features a main date counter, with two smaller indicators on each side indicating the leap year (left) and day of the week (right). Adjustors for the calendar functions are hidden on the sides of the case middle in discreet positions in case the calendar needs to be moved forwards.

The dial is finished in exquisite detail: a hobnail guilloché pattern, cut using a rose engine, covers most of the primary display. The counters are ringed and printed with relevant calendrical information, with a brushed finish and beadblasting on the chamfered edges. Blued hands are used for all the counters and time-telling functions. And in between the minute track and Roman hour numerals is a little grooved ring that adds to the depth of the dial’s complexity.

Like all Classique models, the watch has a thin polished bezel with bar-like lugs and an exhibition caseback through which one can admire the slim Calibre 502.3.P. This is a Calibre 502 base with an added calendar module to the movement. It has an open barrel and large off-centred oscillating weight to keep the movement running. At just 4.5mm thick, this makes the Ref. 7327 a sub-10mm perpetual calendar watch, an impressive offer from the brand. The Calibre 502.3.P has a silicon balance spring and horns for its escapement, ensuring magnetic resistance and high accuracy.

The Ref. 7327 is available in a white or rose gold case, with a blue alligator leather strap for the former and brown for the latter. Both models are available at all authorised retailers.  

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL