Breguet Classique Ref. 5197BA/15/986 - 35.5mm

The Breguet Classique 5197BA is a dress watch in the oldest sense: 18-carat yellow gold, 35.5mm across and barely 7.5mm thick, with the coined caseband Breguet has used since Abraham-Louis Breguet's own workshop. It is small by modern standards, and deliberately so.

The dial is solid 18-carat silvered gold rather than a plated disc, hand-engraved on a rose engine with a circular barleycorn pattern, so the texture is cut into precious metal by hand rather than stamped. A chapter ring carries black Roman numerals, offset in six-hour increments with dot minute markers, and the blued steel Breguet hands with their hollowed moon tips sweep over it. The date sits in an aperture at 6 o'clock.

Behind the sapphire caseback is the self-winding Calibre 591A, running at 28,800 vibrations an hour with around 38 hours of power reserve. Its balance spring, lever and escape wheel are made from silicon, a material Breguet helped introduce to watchmaking: it is antimagnetic, needs no lubrication, and holds its rate more consistently over the years between services. It is water resistant to 30 metres, on a brown alligator strap with an 18-carat yellow gold Breguet buckle. At Konesseur, every watch is authenticated and inspected in Dubai before listing, and the UAE's 5% VAT keeps a piece at this level below European retail. See more Breguet or the full watches range to compare.

• Reference and model: Breguet Classique, Ref. 5197BA/15/986, 18-carat yellow gold, 35.5mm with coined caseband
• Dial: solid 18-carat silvered gold, hand-engraved circular barleycorn guilloché on a rose engine, Roman numeral chapter ring, blued steel Breguet hands, date at 6 o'clock
• Movement and build: self-winding Calibre 591A, silicon balance spring, lever and escape wheel, 28,800 vph, around 38 hours power reserve, sapphire crystal and caseback, 30m water resistance, brown alligator strap with 18-carat yellow gold buckle