Good Watch, Good Style - The good relationship between watches and clothes. Vol.04 Breguet Type 20 2057

Good Watch, Good Style - 時計と服のいいカンケイ。Vol.04 Breguet Type 20 2057

2024.12.4

Photo： Hiroyuki Takashima

Edit： Ryo Muramatsu

Every year, various brands release high-quality mechanical watches. What kind of clothes do they go with? Here are some ideas. Every month, we choose a watch that we think is great and introduce it with an outfit that goes well with it.

A 21st century film born from 1,100 films from the 20th century.

As the year draws to a close, the New Words and Buzzwords Awards are announced every year. Thirty words that represent the state of the world that year are nominated, and a committee of judges chooses the top ten and the grand prize winner. Some of the most representative words from this year are "50-50," referring to Shohei Otani's record, "That's enough," a line from the TV drama "Jijinsha-tachi," and "Cat Meme," a short video of a cat. Some are familiar, while others are new to me, which makes it interesting.

Among them, the most prominent were those related to the Paris Olympics, such as "Middle-aged Japan," "Breaking," and "Failed to leave a memorable quote." At this tournament, Japan won 20 gold medals and recorded a total of 45 medals, both of which were the most ever in a summer tournament held overseas.

Looking back at the Paris Olympics, there are many memorable moments, but one of them would be the women's beach volleyball final between Brazil and Canada. Towards the end of the match, players from both countries began arguing over the net, creating a tense situation. At that moment, the song "Imagine" by John Lennon was playing in the stadium. The audience sang along, bringing the players' grim expressions to smiles. It was an unexpected scene in which music resolved a dispute that arose during a heated match.

This will be the second time the Paris Games have been held; the first was held 100 years ago.

In the 1920s, France was recovering from the First World War, and Coco Chanel was active in the fashion world. She released the perfume "Chanel No. 5" in 1921, and a few years later, the black dress "Petite Robe Noire" that was nicknamed "Chanel Ford."

During this period, Breguet's chronographs supported the French aviation industry. At the time, Breguet produced not only pilot watches, but also timepieces for aircraft instrument panels for Louis Breguet Aviation, a company established by the founder's great-grandson. The company's products, which excelled in functionality and practicality, were especially popular in France.

After going through such circumstances, Breguet was approached by the French Air Force and completed the "Type XX" in 1955. The military wanted a chronograph with a flyback function, a rotating bezel, a luminous black dial, and a movement that could withstand changes in air pressure and acceleration.

In fact, the name "Type XX" was not coined by Breguet but by the French Ministry of Aviation. At the time, the military had contracts with several watchmakers, so several brands produced watches called "Type XX". Moreover, each brand sold watches with the same functions to their customers, so there were military and civilian models of the "Type XX", which can be a bit confusing (laughs).

Anatomica knitwear: ¥39,600, pants: ¥48,400 (all Anatomica Tokyo), others: editorial department's personal property

Salomon Boots "SNOWCLOG MID" ¥23,100 (Salomon Call Center)

The model featured in this series is based on the first generation military model, of which 1,100 were made. Unlike the regular model, which is named with the Roman numerals "XX," this model uses the Arabic numeral "20."

The face is characterized by a 30-minute counter at the 3 o'clock position that is larger than the small second at the 9 o'clock position, and a date window between 4 and 5 o'clock. This may seem like an unusual design, but on closer inspection, the expression is extremely neat.

The watch is equipped with an in-house manufactured automatic movement, Caliber 7281. It took four years to develop, and some parts, including the hairspring, are made of silicon. It is resistant to corrosion and wear, and is not affected by magnetism, improving the accuracy of the watch.

This watch comes with an included NATO strap, making it a perfect match for classic casual styles as well as modern boots.

Breguet's iconic watch will be celebrating its 70th anniversary next year. Its popularity is now spreading from the skies of France to the world.

In addition to the casual NATO type strap, a chic calf leather one is also included.
The triangular markers on the bezel, the Arabic numerals on the dial, and all the hands are coated with mint green luminous material.
The crown is pear-shaped, reminiscent of the original Type 20, and is engraved with the brand's initials.