The importance of accuracy in timepieces for aviation purposes can never be overstated. Operations such as measuring flight time, monitoring fuel consumption and taking bearings, all required watchmakers to create reliable on-board chronographs and chronograph wristwatches throughout the years, in order for pilots to perform all manoeuvres in a safe manner.
However, it was a request in the 1950s by the French Air Force that resulted in a major development for aviation timekeeping. Intending to equip their pilots with chronograph wristwatches, the force requested watchmakers to design a timepiece with a high-quality movement that was resistant to pressure and acceleration changes, as well as the now famed ‘flyback’ function, an ongoing time measurement that can be interrupted and a new one to be started instantaneously by merely pressing a button. The upshot was the creation of Breguet’s Type XX model, which quickly became popular among civilian watch enthusiasts.
Almost 70 years on, Breguet is once again paying homage to the original Type XX timepiece with the Type 20 Chronographe 2057 and the Type XX Chronographe 2067. An ode to its military heritage, the Type 20 is inspired by the model that was delivered to the French Air Force in the late 1950s, enjoying a unique position in the range with the use of Arabic digits in its name rather than Roman numerals. Modernised with a black dial, the Type 20 remains faithful to its identity with a luminescent, mint green shade colouring the numbers, the hands and the triangle on the bezel, and a non-engraved fluted bidirectional bezel fitted to the 42mm steel case. Enjoying the addition of a date window between four and five o’clock, the two o’clock pusher serves to activate the chronograph, with the pusher installed at the four o’clock mark for the ‘flyback’ function.
The civilian timepiece counterpart, the Type XX, is a direct descendant from Breguet’s civilian model from the 1950s and 1960s. Bestowed with a black dial, an ivory-coloured, luminescent treatment coats the hands, the bezel’s triangle and the Arabic numbers, with the date window appearing between four and five o’clock. The 42mm case enjoys a fluted bidirectional graduated bezel and a classic straight crown enables setting in three positions: neutral, date correction and time. The two o’clock pusher starts and stops the chronograph functions, while the pusher at four o’clock resets and restarts the chronograph immediately, based on the ‘flyback’ principle.
The unveiling of the two timepieces heralds the arrival of the new Calibre 728. After four years in development at the Manufacture Breguet, the self-winding Calibre 728 (civilian) and Calibre 7281 (military) see their balance-springs, escape-wheels and pallet-lever horns composed of silicon. Durable, resistant to corrosion and impervious to magnetic fields, the silicon also improves the accuracy of the timepiece.
Bestowed with a 60-hour power reserve, the Type XX has seen an elevation in its aesthetics with notable additions of the sunburst pattern, snailing, bevelling, circular-graining and a sapphire crystal caseback. To complete the look, each timepiece comes with calfskin and black NATO straps. Honouring a tradition of nearly seven decades, the Type 20 and Type XX welcome frequent flyers to take to the skies once again with confidence and style.
