This year once again, Breguet joins Only Watch, the major international charity project sponsored by the Monegasque Association against Muscular dystrophy. This biannual event has been held since 2005 and has benefited from the support of Breguet and the high patronage of HRH Prince Albert II since the very beginning.
An exceptional auction sale conducted by Christie’s will be taking place in Geneva for the benefit of medical research on muscular dystrophy on Saturday, November 9, 2019. Marc A. Hayek, President of Montres Breguet, will once again make a contribution by offering a one-of-a-kind watch.
The Type 20 Only Watch 2019
In homage to both watchmaking and aviation, Breguet is reissuing a unique version of its Type 20 pilot chronograph from the fifties in a form that is very faithful to the original, both esthetically and mechanically.
Its steel case preserves the historical diameter of 38.30 mm, the unique curved horns with lateral bevel, and the pear-shaped crown, typical of the first-generation military models delivered to the French Air Force and Naval Air Force. From this desire for accuracy, the new model is equipped with a bidirectional bezel in fluted steel without graduations, along with triangular markings for flight calculations.
The dial of the watch is inspired by the very rare civilian and military models with a bronze-colored dial sold at the time. Some black dials also took on a shade of bronze after long exposure to the sun. The Type 20 Only Watch 2019 displays small seconds and a 30-minute totalizer. It offers sharp legibility in all conditions and sports the distinctive hands of the historical Type XX watches, which are treated with Super-LumiNova, as well as the large Arabic numerals. A notable difference between the Type 20 Only Watch 2019 and the Air Force’s historical model is the Breguet signature at 12 o’clock.
The Type 20 Only Watch 2019 is faithful not only visually to the watch that it is inspired from, but also in its movement: the Valjoux 235 13 lignes, which is derived directly from the Valjoux 222 14 lignes used in the fifties. The movement blank of this manually wound, column-wheel chronograph was restored back to working order, so as to ensure the Type 20 Only Watch 2019 is endowed with the same proportions and functions. This movement is, of course, fitted with the flyback function, without which it could never be a true Type 20 pilot chronograph.
The Breguet Type 20 Only Watch 2019 is equipped, like the original, with a steel screw-down caseback, which offers water resistance up to 30 meters. On the caseback, the owner of this exclusive watch will find an inscription that reads: “Breguet Type 20 Only Watch 2019 Pièce Unique”. This model will be offered in a presentation box shaped like an airplane’s wing.
