This Seemingly Simple Dress Watch Set the Stage for the Year’s Most Impressive Lineup

This 250-year-old brand reminded everyone that it’s still among the best to ever do it.

Rose gold watch with white dial and black leather strap on a blue background.

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By Johnny Brayson

Published December 30, 2025

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No watch brand had a bigger year than Breguet.

While many brands celebrated anniversaries in 2025 — Vacheron Constantin turned 270, Audemars Piguet, 150 — it was Breguet that made the most of its birthday.

GP100: Gear Patrol’s annual roundup of the most important releases collects key watches, cars, outdoor gear and more. Browse the full list or catch up on last year’s winners.

The Swiss watchmaker, which typically only releases around five new watches per year, put out a dozen in 2025, all of them decidedly impressive.

We got Breguet’s first water-resistant minute repeater, its first flying tourbillon and the incredible Experimentale 1, which introduced a crazy-precise new magnetic escapement and 10Hz tourbillon.

a white dial watch with one hand — While not the most impressive of Breguet’s 2025 releases, the Classique Souscription has had the biggest impact.

But the most impactful of the brand’s 2025 releases was also perhaps the simplest. The Classique Souscription 2025, with its unique one-handed enamel dial, got its design inspiration from founder Abraham-Louis Breguet’s Souscription pocket watches in the 18th century.

But while it may seem like this 200-plus-year-old design is looking backward, the Classique Souscription 2025 is actually the watch most representative of Breguet’s future.

the display case back of a gold Breguet watch — The watch introduced a new proprietary alloy, Breguet Gold, inspired by the gold used by 18th-century watchmakers.

The watch introduced a new proprietary precious metal alloy, Breguet Gold, which was subsequently featured in other 2025 250th-anniversary releases. More notably, it also debuted an exciting new case shape for the brand.

Featuring more contemporary curves, more ergonomic lugs and cleaner brushed sides instead of the brand’s traditional fluted case sides, this is a decidedly more modern case than we’re used to seeing from Breguet. It showed a willingness from the brand, which at times has been traditional to a fault, to experiment in unexpected and refreshing ways.

In the past, Breguet’s long and illustrious history has at times been a burden for the brand. But with the Classique Souscription, Breguet proves it’s possible to tastefully honor its heritage while also modernizing areas of its product that have grown stale.

And if this watch is any indication, Breguet’s next 250 years will be even better than the first.