Sail The World Accurately And In Style With The Breguet Marine Hora Mundi Travel Watch
You might have heard the name Hora Mundi before. The dual-time watch isn’t new in the Breguet collection. But until now, the travel complication could only be found in a classic case with a more traditional dial. The new 43.9 × 13.8mm pink or white gold Breguet Marine Hora Mundi travel watch is anything but a traditional globetrotter. The case is a modern take on the classic theme of nautical watches with very contemporary proportions and design details. And if the size won’t get the watch noticed, the elaborate dial sure will.
The party trick of the Breguet Marine Hora Mundi travel watch is its ability to switch between two timezones instantly. It took practice to make that possible — three years of development and four patents, to be more specific. After setting the time and date in your location using the crown, it’s time to pick a second timezone in the form of a city. An ingenious system of cams, hammers, and an integrated differential calculates the time and date in that second location. And by simply pressing the pushbutton at 8 o’clock, you can instantly sail the world from one side to another. Even better, doing so has no negative effect on the Breguet Marine Hora Mundi’s precision and operation. Have a look at Rob’s Hora Mundi 5717 video to see how it works.
The insides of the Breguet Marine Hora Mundi travel watch
I know you’ve seen the dial — how could you not? — but before I get into that extraordinary piece of horological craftsmanship, let me give you some facts and figures regarding the movement. The automatic 4Hz caliber 77F1 features a silicon escapement. Yes, that is high-tech and forward-thinking for sure. But it’s the modules on top of the base that make the world go round, so to speak. They’re in charge of operating the dual-time mechanism, the second city indication, the programmable and reprogrammable mechanical memory wheel, and the day/night display. And since we’re on the topic of displaying stuff, the movement with its elegant Geneva stripes, guilloché, and circular finish is there for you to see through the sapphire case back. What you can’t see is that the movement has a 55-hour power reserve, and that’s exactly why I’m telling you now.
Waves washing up on shore
I will try to not be overly poetic, but the dial of the Breguet Marine Hora Mundi kind of brings out the Baudelaire in me. The Hora Mundi’s dial shows an artful interpretation of the globe. Most interesting is the overlap of different plates in different materials. The base of the dial is done in gold, and on it, you see manually engraved guilloché waves washing up on the shores of the continents. The deep blue sunray background is a dynamic decor that changes with the light and every movement of the wrist. The continents display a horizontally brushed finish and a turquoise outline, while the external flange acts as a support for the various dial elements. Though it takes several weeks to create a dial like this, I think we can agree that the end product is worth it. Not only does it show different structures and finishes, but it also plays with the light and has incredible depth.
Breguet Marine Hora Mundi Travel watch live at work
Next month, I will get to see the new Breguet Marine Hora Mundi Travel watch in the (precious) metal — pink and white gold, as I mentioned before — during an upcoming product presentation. It will come on either a bracelet, a blue leather strap, or a blue rubber strap as pictured here. Hopefully, I can grab a watch and keep it for a longer period so I can write a hands-on review and have Bert take live pictures to accompany it. I will also ask about the watch’s retail price since I have no info on that yet. In the meantime, you can have a look at Breguet’s official website. Feel free to drop your first impressions of this piece in the comments.
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