An Iconic Traditional Dress Watch Gets a Surprising and Stunning Modern Makeover

At the end of last year, I crowned Breguet as the top watch brand of 2025.

The brand had a banner year to celebrate its 250th anniversary, releasing twice as many watches as it typically does in a year and showcasing an exciting future with glimpses of a new, more contemporary design language and some world-leading horological tech.

Now, I’m happy to report that Breguet is kicking off its 2026 release calendar by picking up right where it left off and reinventing the closest thing it has to a flagship — the Tradition — with a refreshingly modern makeover.

Tradition? Tradition

The Tradition has been around since 2005, but the line looks much older than that. Inspired by some of the pocket watches crafted by brand founder Abraham-Louis Breguet more than two centuries ago, the watches have an exposed movement on the dial side with an off-center clock face and feature traditional touches like Roman numeral indices and guilloché finishes.

For 2026, Breguet has rolled out a series of aesthetic updates across several Tradition models that make the watch look a whole lot more contemporary, and at least to my eye, more attractive. This also brings the watches more in line with their competition, which could help boost sales for the line that Breguet admittedly wants to elevate to unquestioned flagship status.

Breguet

The updates most drastically show up on the clock face. Previously, these clock faces were guillochéd with printed Roman numeral indices. They looked like they could have come off a watch in the 18th century, and that was kind of the point. For the new models, Breguet has swapped out the guilloché for cleaner (but still luxe) Grand Feu enamel, while the Roman numerals have been jettisoned for Arabics. Don’t worry, though, they’re of course using Breguet numerals.

The movements powering these new Traditions are the same as before, but they’ve been given updated finishing to give off a more contemporary vibe. The bridges and mainplate are now either PVD-coated in black or ALD-treated in blue, transforming these traditional mechanical movements into striking, futuristic-looking horological machines.

The movements are entirely hand-finished with shotblasting on the bridges, satin finishing on the mainplate and new mainspring barrel covers featuring snailing or sunray guilloché.

Breguet

The last major update is found on the strap, which some will cry is a bridge too far but which I actually love. Prior to today’s update, every Tradition in Breguet’s catalog was sold on some form of leather strap. But not the new models. Instead, they get a textile-look rubber strap with top stitching. It’s a daring, contemporary look that’s the last thing one would associate with Breguet, let alone the Tradition.

But that’s what makes them great. Breguet is showing it’s a brand that’s not afraid to take risks, and I think the highly modern stitched rubber is a better stylistic match to the Tradition’s sportier updated design language. Plus, let’s be honest, rubber straps are just more comfortable than leather ones.

Of the four new references, which comprise six models, there are two references that stand out to me and are most emblematic of Breguet’s new direction. They’re the Tradition Seconde Rétrograde 7037 and Tradition GMT 7067.

Breguet

The former is powered by Breguet’s 505 SR automatic calibre with a retrograde seconds complication at 10:00 (that’s where the seconds hand follows a curve to 60 and then instantly snaps back to 0 to start again). It features a 38mm case in either white gold or platinum.

The white gold version boasts an entirely blue ALD-treated movement, a first for Breguet, along with a white Grand Feu enamel dial. It’s paired with a blue or white rubber strap. The platinum version is essentially a murdered-out Tradition. Its movement is black PVD-coated, with a black Grand Feu enamel dial and black rubber strap. Both versions feature a battle axe-like platinum rotor visible through the caseback.

Breguet

The Tradition GMT 7067 is 40mm in platinum and is powered by the hand-wound Breguet Cal. 507DRF dual-time movement. The watch’s movement is black PVD-coated and features a 12-hour home time display at 8:00, along with a day-night indicator for this time zone at 10:00. The second time display can be set in one-hour increments using the crown at 10:00.

The main dial features Grand Feu enamel with a gorgeous green fumé treatment, while the second time dial is openworked. This one is paired with a black rubber strap with green stitching. There’s also a second version of the Tradition GMT 7067 that swaps out the Breguet numerals on the second clock face for Eastern Arabic numerals, which is paired with a bolder green rubber strap.

Breguet

Availability and pricing

I’ve always liked the Tradition, but I love these new versions. They’re unmistakably still Breguet Traditions, but they’re sharper, sportier and more contemporary — three words I don’t normally associate with Breguet, but if this is a sign of things to come, then maybe I should.

Out of the gate, I think the blue 7037 is certainly the most attention-grabbing, but I feel like the blacked-out 7037 has the potential to be a sleeper hit. Who doesn’t want a murdered-out Breguet? The GMT also looks spectacular and should become a mainstay for Breguet.

Then we have the prices, and as expected, they are high. In white gold, the Tradition Seconde Retrograde is priced at $59,700. In platinum, it’s $65,700. The GMT 7067, which only comes in platinum, is even pricier, coming in at $82,900 for either the Arabic or Eastern Arabic version.

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