Breguet Classique 9078 Enamel Painted Watch: The Rare Art of Miniature Enamel Painting

　　Welcoming the Chinese Year of the Rooster in 2017,Breguet watchCombining exquisite miniature enamel painting techniques with the 19th-century French Impressionist "pointillism" and the figure painting style of ancient Chinese porcelain, the Year of the Rooster theme is expressed through traditional Chinese folk hand shadow puppetry. Its artistic value is irreplaceable, making it stand out uniquely among the recently popular zodiac-themed watches.

　　Enamel painting is one of the most difficult challenges in watchmaking, symbolising the highest achievement of craftsmanship and artistic aesthetics. Enamel pigments are composed of mineral powders, and every colouring process must undergo high-temperature firing above 800 degrees Celsius; the slightest carelessness can cause cracking or deformation. Furthermore, individual pigments cannot be mixed to create new colours; they must be ground individually from minerals with different compositions, making the production process extremely complex. Among enamel painting techniques, the most difficult is miniature painting (Enamel Miniature), which involves painting with enamel within a tiny space. Due to the limited space on the dial, depicting the subject matter lifelike requires using a brush as fine as a hair to paint meticulously stroke by stroke under a microscope. This not only requires an exceptionally skilled enamel artist but also takes an extremely long time to complete a single piece, making its artistic value unquestionable.

　　Breguet's enamel dial watches are very rare. In the past, they were mainly white Grand Feu enamel dials, but in recent years, a very small number of miniature painted enamel dial watches have been introduced. For example, the two Breguet Classique 9078 painted enamel watches released in 2016: the "Rose of Versailles Dial" and the "Steed in the Starry Night Dial". The former is based on the portrait of the French Queen Marie Antoinette, while the latter is inspired by a white steed under a starry night.

　　Classique 9078 Rose of Versailles watch

　　The Classique 9078 painted enamel watch is inspired by the portrait "Marie Antoinette with a Rose" painted by Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun in 1783. The original painting of the Rose of Versailles theme is a full-length portrait of Queen Marie Antoinette holding a rose, while the Classique 9078 Rose of Versailles watch captures the portion holding the rose. Combining miniature enamel painting with the delicate craftsmanship of pointillism, it reproduces the fine details of the painting on the dial, making it worthy of close appreciation.

　　Technical features: 18K white gold model, with fine fluted caseband, sapphire crystal caseback, size 33.5 mm, water-resistant to 30 metres, case and lugs set with 88 diamonds (0.606 carats), featuring Breguet signature, Breguet hands, calibre 591C automatic mechanical movement, 25 jewels, 38-hour power reserve, straight-line Swiss lever escapement, silicon Breguet balance spring, frequency 4Hz, white leather strap, recommended retail price NTD1,619,000.

　　It is worth mentioning that Breguet adopted the pointillism technique popularised by the 19th-century Neo-Impressionist painter Georges-Pierre Seurat. From a distance, it is a vivid and exquisite painting, but up close, one discovers that every line, structure, and colour block is composed of tiny dots. Compared to ordinary miniature enamel painting, this requires far more masterly painting skills. The delicate brushstrokes and gradations of light and shadow create a lifelike three-dimensional effect, as if the scene is truly leaping off the dial. This same technique is also applied to the Chinese zodiac series watches that Breguet releases annually. In fact, Breguet introduces two zodiac-themed watches every year, including the cameo shell dial watch in the Reine de Naples series and the Classique 9078 painted enamel watch.

　　BREGUET Les Exclusifs De Breguet Enamel Painted Zodiac Watch (Year of the Monkey) 9078

　　Utilising delicate and superb Grand Feu enamel craftsmanship combined with fine painting techniques, the figures and the lifelike hand shadow of the monkey are hand-drawn, while the outer bezel set with 88 round diamonds adds a touch of femininity.

　　Model Ref. 9078BB25976DD0009, 18K white gold model, with fine fluted caseband, sapphire crystal caseback, size 33.5 mm, water-resistant to 30 metres, Grand Feu painted enamel dial, featuring Breguet signature, Breguet blue steel hands, calibre 591C automatic mechanical movement, 25 jewels, 38-hour power reserve, straight-line Swiss lever escapement, silicon Breguet balance spring, frequency 4Hz, white leather strap, recommended retail price NTD1,619,000.

　　The Breguet Classique 9078 painted enamel zodiac watch blends Eastern and Western artistic elements. On one hand, it employs the aforementioned 19th-century French Impressionist pointillism technique, while on the other, it incorporates the figure, landscape, and scenery painting styles of Chinese porcelain, as if transforming the dial into ancient porcelain. Another feature is the theme of "hand shadow puppetry" from traditional Chinese folk performance, projecting the appearance and spirit of the zodiac animal through the gestures of the figures in the painting, echoing traditional Chinese New Year customs and evoking a warm atmosphere of family reunion.

　　BREGUET Les Exclusifs De Breguet, Enamel 9078 Painted Enamel Zodiac Watch (Year of the Rooster)

　　Model Ref. 9078EB25976DD0010, 18K white gold model, with fine fluted caseband, sapphire crystal caseback, size 33.5 mm, water-resistant to 30 metres, Grand Feu painted enamel dial, featuring Breguet signature, Breguet blue steel hands, calibre 591C automatic mechanical movement, 25 jewels, 38-hour power reserve, straight-line Swiss lever escapement, silicon Breguet balance spring, frequency 4Hz, white leather strap, recommended retail price NTD1,619,000.

　　The theme for 2017 is the golden rooster announcing prosperity. In the painting, a mother and daughter dressed in ancient attire sit on an antique Arhat bed, with the upturned eaves and circular archway typical of Jiangnan gardens on the left, filling the scene with a sense of nostalgia. In the upper right corner is the golden rooster pattern projected by hand shadows, simple in line yet full of childlike charm, joyfully welcoming the new atmosphere of the 2017 New Year. The central hour, minute, and second hands retain the distinctive Breguet hand style, and the bezel is exquisitely set with 88 fine diamonds, adding a touch of luxury. This once again echoes the design elements blending Eastern and Western cultures, showcasing Breguet's unparalleled artistic achievement and craftsmanship aesthetics, making it one of the most distinctive Year of the Rooster zodiac watches of 2017.

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