Breguet has decided to mark its 250th anniversary in the only way a 250-year-old watchmaker reasonably can: by producing objects so ornate you half expect them to hum when no one’s looking.
Two new mesmerizing Reine de Naples watches have arrived, each with its own personality, each with a slightly smug awareness that it’s far more glamorous than anything you or I will ever own.
I must admit, they’re both quite wonderful. They behave like tiny worlds with their own weather patterns, glinting and shifting as if they’re slightly amused by the idea of being called watches at all.
Reine de Naples Crazy Flower
The One That Practically Winks at You
The Crazy Flower doesn’t ease itself into the room. It shimmers in with the confidence of someone who’s been told since birth that they glow in the right light. And in this case, they truly do. The whole thing behaves like a mechanical blossom caught mid-bloom, graced by 436 diamonds set in curved layers that sway a little, as if they’re testing your eyesight.
The frangipani inspiration becomes obvious once you stop staring at the carat count. Each corolla is sculpted by hand, set with baguette diamonds, and placed on dual ovoid rings that follow the wrist so neatly you’d think the watch was fitted by a tailor. Breguet gold underneath adds a gentle warmth, the sort that creeps up on you instead of shouting.
The dial sits proudly in the middle, paved with even more diamonds, this time inverted, with points that rise toward you. A slightly mischievous idea, that. You get this field-of-sparkles effect in direct light, like someone scattered gemstones across fresh snow.
Inside, the ultra-slim calibre 586/1 does what Breguet movements do: keep the whole production running without theatrics. The back reveals a platinum oscillating weight decorated with a two-tone Petit Trianon motif, which is the horological equivalent of a tasteful bow tie.
The strap, champagne satin alligator, completes this picture rather nicely, although it does whisper “Don’t wear me to the supermarket.”
Reine de Naples Perles Impériales
The One With Palpable Self-Control
The Perles Impériales arrives with a quiet grace that makes the Crazy Flower look slightly excitable. This watch is not trying to bloom, it’s trying to glow. It has Akoya pearls serving as the main theme and they’re used in a way that shows Breguet’s confidence more than its desire to impress others.
The case is built from heart-shaped gold claws holding diamonds of mixed sizes, which sounds chaotic but ends up creating a soft, steady gleam around the wrist. Then the opal dial starts shifting through its colors — that curious play between yellow, blue, green, pink, gray — and you realize this watch is essentially doing mood lighting.
The dial itself is set with more than 200 diamonds, with a pear-shaped one at 12 o’clock acting as a sort of exclamation mark. Gold numerals sit politely among the sparkle and at six o’clock Breguet swaps the usual ball-shaped signature for a perfect Akoya pearl.
It fits the watch’s mood so well it feels like it had been waiting there all along.
The bracelet continues the pearl theme with an articulated row of Akoya pearls, connected by slender gold links. It moves fluidly, almost too gracefully, and looks unexpectedly soft. If you want something less “royal procession”, there’s also a champagne alligator strap in the box.
The movement, again the same calibre 586/1, appears through the sapphire back with its Petit Trianon and Quai de l’Horloge guilloché. A gentle reminder that underneath the illumination and pearls, a proper mechanical heart is ticking away carefully.
A Celebration That Actually Feels Earned
Together, these two extraordinary timepieces behave like opposite members of the same noble family, one sparkling with energy, the other glowing with composure.
They share the classic Reine de Naples silhouette, of course, but each wanders into its own little world of extravagance. And both are made to order, which seems only fair. Watches with this level of decoration shouldn’t be sitting in glass cases waiting for someone to stroll in.
For 250 years, Breguet has made a habit of mixing engineering with a kind of elegant excess. With these two watches, the Maison leans proudly into both. And honestly, it’s hard not to admire the confidence.
