Part Three: Secret Tourbillons Ref. 1801 and Ref. 1808.

 

These watches are undeniably promising for collectors, as they were manufactured over an extended period and exhibit several design variations which set them apart from standard catalog models, although the brand doesn't divulge the details.

 

On the one hand, this is a drawback, as only the brand has all the technical information at its disposal. On the other hand, the fact that the brand doesn't see the need to share this information with collectors and specialists opens up a very engaging opportunity for independent research without the brand's involvement or assistance.

 

The secret tourbillons Ref. 1801 and Ref. 1808 are fascinating examples for further exploration of this subject. Ref. 1801 and Ref. 1808 can be referred to as secret tourbillons because the dials of these tourbillon watches are concealed by a hinged cover fitted over them.

 

Versailles
Versailles

The Ref. 1801 was clearly developed to eloquently highlight the brand's long-established traditions going back to 1775. This design appears to be a thinly veiled allusion to the half-hunter variety of pocket watches concealed by a protective cover with a small window that allowed the owner to tell the time without lifting the cover.

 

The Breguet à Versailles tourbillon watch was the first version of Ref. 1801 released in 2001 in two limited edition 28-piece series: one in 18-karat pink gold (Ref. 1801BR/29/2W6), and a second in 18-karat white gold (Ref. 1801BB/29/2W6), both with enamel dials. The white enamel dial was decorated with Arabic Breguet numerals and Breguet hands made of blued steel.

 

 

Ref. 1801 and Ref. 1808 can be referred to as secret tourbillons because the dials of these watches are concealed under a hinged cover

 

The exposed side of the protective cover was engraved with relief guilloché while the inside had an engraving of the piece's serial number in the limited edition along with the inscription "Breguet à Versailles".

 

There’s a floral motif hand-engraved on the back of the movement's plate in the ornate Rococo style typical of the brand's wristwatch tourbillons. It was also inscribed with "Tourbillon Breguet", "Brevet du 7 Messidor an 9", and the watch's serial number according to Breguet's conventional system.

 

Breguet à Versailles Ref. 1801
Breguet à Versailles Ref. 1801
Breguet à Versailles Ref. 1801
Breguet à Versailles Ref. 1801

The watches are equipped with modified second-generation caliber 558 movements with the fourth type of engraving (a description with photos showing the different types of engraving can be found in part one of this article series).

 

However, an upper bridge on the tourbillon was also used in this movement which differs from the standard construction of caliber 558, so the movements of Ref. 1801 and Ref. 1808 watches are referred to as 557T ("557" is engraved on the movements). This type of skeletonized bridge can also be seen in pocket tourbillons from the first half of the 20th century.

 

Abraham-Louis Breguet
Abraham-Louis Breguet
Breguet's patent
Breguet's patent

The launch was timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the day Abraham-Louis Breguet received his patent for the tourbillon he invented. Breguet was acquired by Swatch Group a couple of years before the anniversary in 1999.

 

This raises the valid question of whether the project was initiated by the brand's former management team or when it was already being run by the Hayeks. It remains unanswered. And this is just one of many unclarified points surrounding the launch.

 

 

On June 26, 1801 the French Interior Minister granted Breguet a patent.

It's worth bearing in mind that the debut was delayed by a year, although the watch was obviously made for the anniversary celebrations in 2001. Nevertheless, many sources still cite 2001 as the release year for Ref. 1801.

 

The planned date to unveil the model in 2001 for the 200th anniversary was put on hold until 2002 as a consequence of the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. That's why the actual launch date of the limited series could be considered 2002 — when the evening event was held in the Palace of Versailles to mark the second century since Breguet's invention. 

 

Nicolas George Hayek
Nicolas George Hayek

This was one of the brand's first high-profile launches overseen by the charismatic Nicolas George Hayek. The launch of Ref. 1801 in two series was clearly a success, so the brand's management decided to continue manufacturing watches with this distinctly unusual design but with a different composition for the dials.

 

New versions of Ref. 1801 were no longer limited and given dials which had the classic small guilloché subdials with hour and minute hands pointing to Roman numerals for indexes. The surface of the dial was notable for its rhodium-plated vertically striped Côtes de Genève pattern.

 

This was the design used for Ref. 1801BR/12/2W6 models in pink gold and Ref. 1801BB/12/2W618 models in white gold. It's worth noting that unlike limited editions, the only inscription hand-engraved on the inside of the cover was "Breguet".

 

Breguet Ref. 1801BR/12/2W6
Breguet Ref. 1801BR/12/2W6
Breguet Ref. 1801BR/12/2W6
Breguet Ref. 1801BR/12/2W6

Apart from that, the brand also released a platinum Ref. 1801PT/12/2W6 with a dial like the unlimited models. The platinum watch was limited to ten pieces, which seems to be the rarest design version of Ref. 1801.

 

The platinum models have an original type of engraving on the inside of their covers: the inscription “Breguet” with the piece's serial number and the signature of Nicolas G.  Hayek. Their caliber 557 has a similar composition to third-generation caliber 558 movements.

 

The brand later presented an anniversary version of Ref. 1801: Ref. 1808BR/92/9W6/DD00 in pink gold with a protective cover encrusted in diamonds. These watches had black rhodium guilloché subdials with Roman numerals, while the remaining surface of the dial was engraved with a decorative weave-like pattern.

 

Breguet Ref. 1808BR/92/9W6/DD00
Breguet Ref. 1808BR/92/9W6/DD00
Breguet Ref. 1808BR/92/9W6/DD00
Breguet Ref. 1808BR/92/9W6/DD00

This model was manufactured significantly later than its parental Ref. 1801, which you can tell by the big numbers on the movements of pieces which appeared on the market: 5111 and 5402.

 

The composition of caliber 557 in these jewelry pieces also shows they belong to a later period, it's similar to fourth-generation 588 movements. There's a lack of reliable information about when the commercially produced Ref. 1801 was discontinued and how many of these editions were released.

 

You can make an educated guess by analyzing the available information about the pieces and deduce that the release took place in two stages. The first stage was when the bulk of the release took place in the early 2000s.

 

 

Breguet presented an anniversary version of Ref. 1801: Ref. 1808BR/92/9W6/DD00 in pink gold with a protective cover encrusted in diamonds

 

Both limited and unlimited watch series were already being manufactured around 2001-2002. The first pieces representing both limited and unlimited models are known to have begun turning up at auctions towards the end of 2002.

 

Based on the information made available to the public, the numbers on movements with all possible compositions of Ref. 1801 in the initial period range from 1825 to 1999. That means it’s more than likely there aren’t any more than 200 pieces in total. There’s still reason to believe the release wasn't discontinued completely.

 

Some pieces were probably released for further orders, albeit in very small quantities. This also applies to unlimited Ref. 1801 watches — there's information about a watch movement numbered 2151, and its caliber 557 has a similar composition to the third-generation caliber 558.

 

This aligns with the evolution of caliber 558 in watches that share the reference number 3357, and serves as further evidence that caliber 558 and its clones were numbered consecutively at Breguet within fixed quotas (ranges of numbers) set for them in advance, doing the same for caliber 557 with its defining tourbillon bridge.

 

The jewelry watch Ref. 1808 we've already mentioned was also released in the later period, presumably beginning in 2007. The composition of its caliber 557 is similar to the fourth-generation caliber 558.

 

Another common trait among 1801 models can be identified by analyzing the available information: the case number of almost all openly documented pieces are marked with the letter "L" and numbered from 763L to 963L, which supports the theory about the limited release period for this reference, which more than likely fell within 2001–2002.