The Evolution of Breguet's Marine Collection

In 1990, the Breguet manufacture introduced models to commemorate Breguet's historic appointment as chronometer-maker to the French Royal Navy.

These were the Marine watches with classic guilloché patterns in the center of their dials, Roman numerals, and the classic blued steel 'Breguet' hands. The designer who gave them their appearance was Jörg Hysek, who went on to set up his own brand six years later. The next generation of Breguet Marines soon appeared in the early 2000s.

Staying true to the dial's  traditional design, the brand equipped the watch with large lugs, moving a step closer towards a sporty design. However, the collection’s modern look only really began to take shape from 2009 onwards, when the Marine Royale Ref. 5847 watch appeared in the line.

The guilloché and numerals have barely changed, but the case has become more imposing: the former stepped bezel has been replaced with a chunky analog with notches and a triangular marker which come off the dial.

The brand took another step forward in 2017 when it unveiled the Marine Équation Marchante 5887. It featured the equation of time, a perpetual calendar and a tourbillon. If we ignore the extra indicators, this is the Marine we've come to know in the collection over the last few years, with a colored guilloché dial that has the original wave pattern,

Breguet's 'pomme' hands, which grew even bigger, like the Roman numerals. The wide bezel was also abandoned in favor of a more subtle version. Three pillars of the current Marine collection were released in 2018 — a three-hand watch,  a chronograph and a model with a striking mechanism.

They'd already undergone a number of transformations which bring them closer to the new look for 2021. All three titanium versions have been given a deep blue dial, which used to be strictly reserved for white-gold watches. Titanium used to only been combined with a slate-gray dial in a sunburst pattern.

At the same time, some of the restrictions for titanium have still been upheld: Marine models in this noble metal can still only boast a modest satin-brushed sunburst pattern, and they haven't been given guillochéed dials with the wave pattern.

Fans of the pattern inspired by the sea will have to look for it in series of rose-gold models. The dials of these watches have also had a color change, going from silver to dark gray.

The three-hand Breguet Marine 5517 with a case measuring 40 mm in diameter and 11.5 mm in height offers a water resistance of 100 m and houses the caliber 777A movement. The Marine 5527 chronograph is 42.3 mm in diameter and equipped with a 582QA movement, while the 40 mm Marine Alarme Musicale is powered by the automatic caliber 519F/1.