Description

Introduced as part of the Classique Grande Complication collection and produced from the late 1990s into the 2000s, the reference 3657 represents Breguet at its most architecturally ambitious within a dress watch format. Beyond the one-minute tourbillon, visible through an aperture at 6 o’clock, with its own running seconds hand, the 3657 incorporates two further functions that demand considerable movement engineering: a 50-hour power reserve indicator and a retrograde 24-hour display, the latter serving as an AM/PM indication presented as a graceful fan-form sector on the dial.

Breguet Calibre 560T (or 558.1 on earlier examples), manually wound, 24 jewels, is displayed through a sapphire caseback and is decorated in the traditional Breguet manner: hand-engraved movement plate, bevelled bridges, and the kind of finishing that does not announce itself but rewards extended examination.

The Dial

The layout is immediately striking. The time-display subdial is positioned eccentrically at 12 o’clock, a nod to pocket watch tradition and to the asymmetric dial architecture that Breguet’s founder himself favoured, leaving the lower half of the dial as a stage for the tourbillon cage and the two arc-shaped indicators. The result is a dial that rewards close reading without ever feeling crowded. This is a function of exceptional design control, and it is one of the reasons the 3657 has become regarded as one of the finest expressions of classical complications from the modern era.

Specifications

Brand: Breguet

Model: Classique Tourbillon

Year: circa 2000s

Case material: 18-karat yellow gold

Case diameter: 39 mm

Dial: Silvered solid gold, hand-engraved guilloché, eccentric Roman numeral chapter ring, blued Breguet pomme hands

Strap: Alligator leather strap with 18k yellow gold Breguet deployant buckle

Movement: Breguet Calibre 560T (manual wind), 24 jewels, 50-hour power reserve

Accessories: Watch only (no box or papers)

Warranty: 1 year warranty

Collector Appeal

The Breguet reference 3657 in yellow gold occupies a very specific position in the collector market: it is a genuine grand complication from the greatest name in tourbillon history, finished in the rarer and warmer of the two precious metal options, produced in small numbers, and presented in the understated classical dress watch format that defines modern Breguet at its best. Opportunities to acquire one in honest, unpolished condition do not present themselves often.

Availability

This vintage day-date automatic watch is available through Vintage Times Amsterdam.

For further information or high-resolution images, please feel free to contact:

Vintage Times

Vintage Times Amsterdam is a small watch boutique who mainly deals online and with a select group of private collectors. We are constantly looking for rare vintage timepieces and try to present the best condition available. Please don’t hesitate to get in contact for more information about this watch or other timepieces from our collection. We ship worldwide and also welcome you for a visit at our office in Amsterdam

Vintage Times

email: [email protected]

tel / app: +31 6 4 1111 044