Breguet 18K Yellow Gold & Stainless Steel Marine Ref 3400SA/12/X90

This Breguet 18K Yellow Gold & Stainless Steel Marine Ref 3400SA/12/X90. It is in near mint condition with light signs of wear. The watch comes with booklet and warranty booklet dated in May 1997.

Breguet had always been a brand of prestige, with such rich history and historical achievements. The brand became more prominent during the 1970s after it was first purchased and owned by the Chaumet brothers, while being run by Francois Bodet and then head watchmaker, Daniel Roth. They cemented the Breguet style as we love and know today making many iconic timepieces such as the example with have to offer here.

It was until the year 1986 when the brand was forced to go bankrupt as the Chaumet brothers were arrested for breach of trust and fraud. The brand was then sold off to private equity firm, Investcorp, in 1987 who in turn after growing the company to a success, sold off to Swatch group in 1999.

First Introduced in the early 1990s during the early reign of investcorp, the Breguet Marine was the brands new “line up” that was targeted toward a younger and new audience as sports watches were gaining popularity at the time, with Patek Philippe introducing their Nautilus line and Audemars Piguet introducing their Royal Oaks model.

The Breguet Marine was designed by designer Jörg Hysek, famously known for designing the iconic “222” for Vacheron Constantin and founder of his own anonymous brand “Hysek”.

As to be expected from the early Breguets, the watch features many design cues that were cemented by then head-watchmaker Daniel Roth, such as the guilloche dial, the iconic coin case with its fluted middle section and straight lugs, and the beautiful pomme shaped ‘Breguet’ hands.
However the marine has its own design cues, such as the crown guard and unique crown design. A very minimal design change, yet completely changes the aesthetic of the pieces!

This Breguet Marine encased in bi-metal, yellow-gold and stainless-steel case. is elegantly sized at 35.5mm but wears much larger than it does thanks to its iconic lug design.

This Breguet 3400 Marine also comes with a uniquely designed bracelet by Jorg Hysek specially for the Breguet Marine with this example also in bi-metal, yellow-gold and stainless steel.

The watch is powered by a JLC 889/2 automatic movement, dubbed Cal.549 internally by Breguet back in the day.