3 Things You Need To Know About The Breguet Tradition Chronographe Independant

There is a lot to love about Breguet’s Tradition Chronographe Independant 7077, but here are the key features you ought to know about one of the most talked about novelties of the year.

1. It has two separate gear trains for the timekeeping and chronograph functions.
The first, dedicated to the hours and minutes, is regulated by a 3Hz balance with a power reserve of 55 hours. The going train for the chronograph on the other hand, has a higher frequency of 5Hz to ensure greater precision when measuring the time. The main reason the trains run independently of each other is to ensure that utilising the chronograph will not disrupt the rate of the movement.

2. It has a completely new kind of spring.
Logic dictates that a second gear train will require a second source of power, and that second mainspring barrel is going to take up valuable real estate in the watch (and require the wearer to wind two springs). To counter this, Breguet has developed a flexed blade spring based on a similar one found in an early pocket watch, and generates energy for the chronograph just from resetting it to zero. And as it did in the historic reference, it has a maximum reserve of 20 minutes.

3. The balance wheel is patented.
In order to maintain the pleasing symmetry often found in the Tradition collection, Breguet had to develop a special balance wheel for the chronograph in titanium. Using a lighter material like titanium not only allows the wheel to run faster (at 5Hz, if you recall), it also allows an increase in diameter so as to mirror the movement’s balance wheel.

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