Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
mbjoer

Breguet 3237 - Classique Chrono

Recommended Posts

mbjoer

I have just updated a review I did some time ago on Repgeek. Here is the updated version:

 

From the Breguet Website:

 

The Classique watch, inspired by A.-Louis Breguet’s creations, demonstrates the principles that revolutionised the design of watches: pure forms, harmonious proportions and unobtrusive dials. The refined styling reflects the original construction of the movement. From the fluted case to the engine-turned dial, each detail of a Classique watch bears our founder’s imprint - the hallmark of the Breguet style.

 

 

The chronograph has been part of Breguet’s watchmaking tradition since 1820 when A.-Louis Breguet completed the first «double-seconds chronometer†– the ancestor of the modern chronograph. Later he

developed an inking chronograph with Frédéric-Louis Fatton, one of his best watchmakers. This ingenious device gave us the word “chronograph†– “chronos†(time) and “graphein†(to write). Your Classique chronograph demonstrates our particular expertise in perfecting a mechanism that is written

into our history.

 

 

 

Well. - The Breguet Classique Chronograph is a great, little watch. It replicates fairly accurately the Breguet 3237, manufactured until about 10 years ago.

 

Very dressy, highly detailed and a watch which most people can see is beautiful, even if not everybody would want to wear one. Truly a watch which feels and looks exclusive.

 

 

 

 

 

Breguet is a brand that has it all. Quality, design, prestige and masses of history.

 

The only problem is that most reps are either not particularly good or rediculously expensive. However looking around I came across this one which I liked and which seemed be within financial reach:

 

DSC_0003.jpg

 

 

 

Being a conservative beast I prefered to go with dealers I had used before and first stop was Mark @ timesshop.net, who sent me this one instead:

 

3108-4731_sml1.jpg

 

Similar, but not as nice in my opinion.

 

Next stop Hont, who initially thought he could procure the one I was looking for, but in the end he too had to refund my money.

 

Finally I went with a recommendation form the board here, Mary @ watchinternational, and with her I struck gold. She turned out to be very switched on, with fast communication, pictures sent without me asking for them, follow up on the shipment, competitive price and an excellent English. A very positive experience, which I have since repeated several times over.

 

Finally, this arrived:

 

009.jpg

 

First impressions

 

In contrast to Rolex and Breitling you are very unlikely to meet anyone with a Gen who can call you out.

The main issue here is, how does the watch look in its own right, and to what extent is it plausible as a Breguet. With a watch like this one first impressions are most important.

 

So how does it measure up?

 

Out of the box my feelings were mixed. The warnings I received about Breguet reps focused on the dial, and the likelyhood that this would be a disappointment. And having seen the previous one from Timesshop, I was not optimistic.

 

But to my delight I was wrong. In fact this watch has an intricate, highly detailed and yet elegant and balanced dial which catches the eye straight away when you see the watch first time.

 

The hands are also well made. They are blue. Sometimes bright blue and sometimes very dark blue, almost black. Pretty.

 

However even though it feels like a good quality watch, as a whole the watch did not come across as a watch worth $ 20,000. - Which perhaps hardly is a surprise given that it cost under $200.

 

So where are the visual weaknesses?

 

1) The strap. Rep straps come in various degrees of bad. This one is plasticy. Terrible!!

No pictures of the rep-strap.

 

2) The crystal. On the positive side it is sapphire. But on the negative side it has no AR treatment, and with a dial that sparkles and plays with the light like few other watches, that is a must.

 

3) The clasp. This is happily less noticeable in normal use, and at a distance it just might pass. But it feels cheap and the laser etching, rather than engraving, is a big mistake.

 

014.jpg

 

 

4) The crown and pushers. The crown is not particularly impressive. It has a “B†on the top, but so poorly made that it just makes it look cheap. And the pushers are sticking too far out, exposing not too pretty stems.

 

5) The case. This one I did not find totally convincing for a watch in the top league. However I think that I suffer from not being able to fully appreciate the difference between white gold and steel. On closer inspection the case is actually quite well made.

 

004.jpg

 

 

 

6) The case back. Shallow ecthing. Not too bad, but certainly not a Breguet-level engraving. And they have not actually used the correct model no for this watch, which I think has lead many to suspect that this one is a fantasy version. It is not, and on the back the correct inscription should have been Ref 3237, and it should have had hallmarks, either for white gold or platinum. The Gen does not exist in steel.

 

012.jpg

 

 

022.jpg

 

 

 

7) The movement. Naturally not the real thing, so anyone familiar with Breguet would spot the difference immediately. However on its own I think this looks quite good. More about that later.

 

 

The good news is that the most visually disturbing aspects of this negative list can be fixed relatively easily.

 

First and foremost the watch needs a seriously good strap. I have for now put a dark brown alligator on it. I am not sure about the colour, but boy, what a difference this change made to this watch. Just having done this it became wearable.

 

It has also had Anti Reflex treatment which made a significant difference. This watch is about light playing on the various angles of the guilleoche. With the Anti Reflex treatment this can really be enjoyed.

 

The clasp will be kept for now, but will keep an eye out for a new one. Have seen one , but it was more expensive than the watch and I am not quite ready to spend that much on the clasp alone.

 

The crown I may just have to live with, although I hope that someone here will come up with a good idea on how to get a decent one. Would definitely improve the watch.

 

So what is the initial verdict?

 

Very positive. But you will need to spend some time and quite a bit more money to get this one right. If you do that you will end up with a very pretty and satisfactory watch for a fraction of the price of a Gen.

 

 

 

Comparison to the Genuine

 

 

I have a few times seen it suggested that this might not be a replica of an existing Breguet model.

As you will see that is wrong. It is in fact a replica of Berguet model 3237. (Notice that the number on the dial is serial no for the specific watch, not the model no - The model no on a Gen is either not mentioned or engaved on the back - a peculiarity to Breguet)

 

I do not have pictures of a white gold or a platinum version so I will now compare it to yellow gold Gens. (At least that makes it easy to remember which is rep and which is gen..... :lol: )

 

 

 

First the Dimentions:

 

Rep: Dia: 40mm, Thickness: 11mm

Gen: Dia 36mm, Thickness: 11mm

Personally I prefer the rep size. The Gen is a bit on the small side in today's world.

 

Then a Look at the Front.

 

Unusually I have included pictures of two Gens here to demonstrate a point:

 

009.jpg

10749-2.jpgBreguetChrono2GENcrownvisible.jpg

 

 

THE NUMBER ON THE FRONT OF THE GEN IS THE SERIAL NO, NOT THE MODEL NO.

 

Other then that the rep dial really is very well made. It captures the Breguet spirit. It is intricate, detailed and the light plays amazingly with the guilloche.

 

The numbers and lettering are beautifully applied and look right. It should in that context be remembered that because Breguet is hand made the application of on the gen is not always 100% perfect.

It is also worth it mentioning that the Gen does not have “Breguet†engraved on either side of the 12 position. The rep is accurate in that respect.

 

But it is not totally accurate compared to the Gen.

 

 

 

The Guilloche

is a criss-cross from 10 to 4 and 2 to 8 on the Gen, but horizontal/vertical on the rep. Nicely made, but incorrect.

 

Numbers and Lettering

 

The application and font of the numbers and lettering is well made. It looks hand made and has the classical feel of a Gen.

 

The text “swiss guilloche main†does not appear on the gens shown here. Only Swiss. However I am not sure that this is incorrect as there may be versions with that text.

 

 

Finally the Subdials.

These are pretty much the right size and distance from the edge. However the numbering and the edge on which it is, is finer on the gen than on the rep.

 

All in all:

Very impressed the the dial. I love to sit and play with the light and just admire the detailing. Definitely close enough to make a great replication of this Breguet model.

 

 

The Hands:

 

The rep has the wonderful blue as well as well as the shapre of the hands on the Gen. It is difficult to capture on a picture, but the hands are anything between bright blue and very dark blue – almost black. All depending on the light.

 

With the exception of the hour hand, the hands are all a bit shorter on the rep than on the gen. In my opinion the Gen is more elegant on that score.

 

Where the hands are attached is silver on the Gen and blue on the rep. Here the rep is prettier than the Gen.

 

All in all again a very successful replication.

 

The Bezel

 

Main difference is the cutout for the crown on the Gen. Because of the very different crown on the rep, this is not replicated.

 

Also the edge seems more defined on the Gen than on the rep.

 

All in all the bezel is satisfactory.

 

 

The Back

 

Once the watch is turned around the quality of the replication drops.

 

012.jpg

10749-7-1.jpg

 

Let me start out by repeating that the movement is wrong, but quite pretty and not too far off the Genuine Lemania. As stated before it would benefit from some Breguet engraving to enhance the plausibility to the untrained eye.

 

The quality of the engraving of text and decoration is well below the standard demonstrated on the dial. Note how deep and beautiful the simple serial no is engraved on the Gen.

 

Also this model does not have screws, model no and decoration on the caseback. Some Breguet models do, but not this one.

 

The worst part is that the the back demonstrates a complete ignorance of Breguet. This is where the model no should be. Instead it is a muddled fantasy, based on another non-chrono model. I suspect that the rep factory has used a generic back for a range of models, past and present.

 

 

 

The Movement

 

The rep movement is a Seagull ST19 Chronograph movement, a Lemania based design (Thanks Pugwash for putting me right on that one).

 

Incorrect, but close. The Gen movement is a Lemania since Breguet owned Lemania at the time this model was designed. (I am not familiar with movements, perhaps someone can inform me here).

 

For visual improvement, a bit of Breguet specific decorative engraving would do wonders here.

 

Crown and Pushers

 

Immediately noticeable is that these are too long. The Pusher stems are not too nicely made and Crown is an incorrect shape, so no need for a cutout on the bezel.

 

Also noticeable is that the Gen does not have a B on the top.

The worst bit on the rep-crown is the very bland B on the top. It really lets the watch down. For this model it is even incorrect and thus the watch would have been better off if the factory had not attempted to be clever.

 

A new crown would be a great improvement, but probably it will not be easy to source a suitable one. So I live with the existing one.

 

Verdict on crown and pushers: Not good.

 

 

The Case

 

Finally a look at the case, ignoring the obvious size issue.

 

DSC_0003.jpg

12506-6.jpg

 

I have here used pictures of two slightly different models using the same rep/Gen case as the 3230. I have only done so because the pictures are better to demonstrate my point.

 

And the point is that the rep case is quite good, but not as sharp in the detailing as the Gen. Initially I was not too happy with it, but I now realise that I am not tuned into white gold, and find that yellow gold looks more exclusive. Frankly I cannot tell the difference between poslihed steel and polished white gold, but as a material it is quite correct to use white gold on a Breguet.

 

 

The Clasp

 

Not a nice rep, and incorrect for the model. Again i guess it is shared with a range of low priced rep models:

 

014.jpg

10749-8.jpg

 

 

 

 

Final Remarks

 

If you buy this replica some modding will be required to turn it into a decent replication .

 

In my opinion it must get a new strap immediately. And a very nice (expensive) one at that.

It also needs an AR treatment in order for the dial to be fully appreciated.

These are relatively easy modifications but would more than double the cost of the watch.

 

The factory could improve the replication without a major additional cost by undertaking the mods suggested above.

More so it needs to correct the case back, put on a decent crown and add some engraving on the movement.

 

With these modest changes the factory would have a really good (almost super) and affordable Breguet replication.

Edited by mbjoer

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
baruch

Very nice review,

 

But Mary is one of the best TRUSTED dealers on this forum.

`Finally I went with a recommendation for a non-trusted dealer, Mary @ watchinternational`

 

I might buy this watch, it is just so nice and classy, or maybe an audemar piquet offshore chronograph black mhhhhmmmmm so much watches so less money

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Member X

Great review, very thorough :lol:

 

I like a lot of these Breguets but, as, you suggest, you have to buy them to enjoy them as pieces in their own right rather than for accuracy to gen!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
dingle

still drooling over this.......;)

 

well done MB :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
mbjoer
still drooling over this.......:rofl:

 

well done MB :lol:

 

 

I'm glad........ B)

You were the one to prompt me to do the original one!!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Luthier

Who told you Mary is not a trusted dealer????????

She is one of the best dealers here!!!

 

Nice watch, anyway... And if you're so anal, why don't you go and buy genuine?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
mbjoer

If you read carefully, this was orginally on RepGeek. Hence the reference to Mary not being a trusted dealer.

 

In fact I wrote this shortly after having signed up here. And here is where I heard about Mary, who has been my very excellent dealer ever since.

 

Will edit the text though....

 

 

B) ;):coffee:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
mbjoer
And if you're so anal, why don't you go and buy genuine?

 

 

Can you lend me dime????

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
jrodshibuya

Excellent review, thank you. I just ordered a Breguet from Timeshop (below) and will do a review when it arrives. As others have mentioned, I'm happy to enjoy it for its own sake, rather than needing it to be close to gen.

 

http://timesshop.net/product.php?id_product=7915

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
cregan77

My question; what kind of band does it come with?? I would think a non-alligator, leather band, would give it away pretty quick.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
cregan77

OK, I clicked on the link and I see it is leather, and for $88, you wouldn't expect different. Do any of the trusted sellers selling hide band watches supply them with Alligator? Again, I think that is very quick give away.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
cregan77

One last, for $88, a very, very nice looking watch.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
trailboss99

OK, I clicked on the link and I see it is leather, and for $88, you wouldn't expect different. Do any of the trusted sellers selling hide band watches supply them with Alligator? Again, I think that is very quick give away.

 

 

No mate, even in china a gator strap would double the (wholesale) cost of the watch and make it impossible to get past customs in some countries.

They may ignore the watch but they won't ignore a gator band without documents.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
cregan77

True. But, to me, that is an easy give away as all these watches, generally, have alligator or croc bands. Easy to spot leather imprinted. John Q probably would notice or know, but anyone who knows watches would.

 

I thought some of the trusted dealers were in the US.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
kilsonvorra

Hello everyone, i am kilson and i am new on this forum. I feels really great after join this forum community. The information about watches are mind blowing on this site. The reviews and photos are absolutely great. I also like the content about goats as I plan to marry one very soon. My hobbies include wanking off stick insects and giving blowjobs to gerbils

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
nickdunc

Hi

Mbjoer suggested getting a replacement strap for the replica in this thread. Are there suppliers or particular straps that anyone would recommend for this watch?

Many thanks,

Nick

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
nickdunc

Hi,

I got this watch and it is very much as Mbjoer described. I agree, it can only be worn with a new strap. The one thing I would perhaps add is that the case seems slightly 'aggressively' shiny. It's hard to put your finger on, hopefully it will all come together with the better strap. Once that arrives it will have amounted to over $350 which is not nothing...so my fingers are crossed.

As described though the face is really nice, and that does 'feel' right.

Thanks again for the detailed and balanced review.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
docbp87

Breguet is definitely the No. 1 brand of which I wish more high quality reps were produced. Especially the Classique, the simpler the better. I know "simpler" is kind of a misnomer, given the high level of detail and filigree that the basic Classique has in the guilloche dial, but I would LOVE a great quality Classique with the Breguet numerals and hands, with properly repped markings. Something like this:

 

Breguet_5177BA-29-9V6-detail.jpg

 

It just oozes pure class to me. The kind of piece that the average Joe will look at and think "nice watch" but a true WIS will know. They will just KNOW.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Rockzz22

Now that is a review.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×