From emperor-general Napoleon Bonaparte to the intrepid Stephen Maturin of Patrick O’ Brian’s Master and Commander novels, a plethora of legendary characters, whether factual or fictional, have always cherished their Breguet watches. "Wonderfully accurate,” as naval surgeon and spy Maturin says of his beloved timepiece in Blue at the Mizzen. “Astonishingly resistant.” Taking the tradition forward into the 21s century is the Classique Grande Perpetual Calendar watch, proof positive of the Breguet tradition of producing timekeepers that are so much more.

Heirs to the exclusive timepieces built by Abraham-Louis Breguet for the Royal French Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the Perpetual Calendar watch, like its brothers in the Breguet line, takes on a contemporary feel with its clean lines and cutting-edge styling. With a case of yellow gold and a silvered dial of the same material, the imaginative shading of light and dark on the body is complemented by its exquisite deep red strap. To live up to its name, it offers an unprecedented elegant combination of a chapter-ring with Roman hours, dates, days and leap years in three sub-dial, central months indication, and Moonphases at 1:30. With a power-reserve indicator at 10.30 underscoring the cutting-edge technology that goes into this most classic of Breguets, the watch embodies, altogether, a trim sportiness that hints at its capacity for endurance. Some watches are timeless.

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