The TYPE XX Flies Back

The Breguet “Type XX”chronograph is one of the most popular military aviator’s wristwatches, sought after by collectors the world over. Although the brand is most often associated with the prestigious watchmaker A.-L. Breguet (1747-1823) who founded the company in 1775, the name of his great-great grandson Louis Breguet (1880-1955) is equally important in the history of aviation. Indeed, he is considered a pioneer in the field of aeronautics.
Louis Breguet, who was born in Paris on January 2, 1880, was a noted French airplane designer. One of his major

achievements was his work on a gyroplane with flexible wings. Considered the forerunner of the helicopter, in 1907 this gyroplane became the first verticalflight aircraft with a pilot. A few years later, in 1911, Louis Breguet founded the Société des Ateliers d’Aviation Louis Breguet for aircraft design and development.

Among his other inventions, he is particularly known for his development of a reconnaissance airplane used by the French during WWI and until the 1920s. This
aircraft, the Breguet XIV, was made almost entirely of aluminum. It was used in the war from 1917 onwards and largely contributed to the Allied victory.
Breguet airplanes also achieved many great successes, such as the first flight between Paris and Tokyo in 1924, the first crossing of the South Atlantic that same
year, and the first flight between Paris and New York in 1930. Breguet remained an important aircraft manufacturer throughout WWII, and afterwards developed
commercial transport. Louis Breguet died in Paris on May 4, 1955.

Meanwhile, the Breguet watch manufacturing firm saw an opportunity to develop products for the growing aircraft industry, with, according to the Breguet archives,
one of their first clients being the famous pilot Santos- Dumont (who bought a simple gold watch in 1910), followed by the American Air Force in 1918 and the Louis Breguet Aircraft Firm in 1922. Aeronautical watches were mostly chronographs with registers and tachometer scale worn by pilots or used in aircraft cockpits. The clientele quickly grew, especially in the field of
commercial transports where Type XI and XII watches are still used by the airlines of over 15 countries!

After some experimentation with watches such as the one pictured on the far left of the opposite page, the Type XX chronograph wristwatch, inspired by the first 1935 Breguet chronographs, was launched in 1950. First produced in small quantities, Type XX became the official watch of the French Air Forces from 1954 to 1970. Officially launched in 1954, it became the most successful and most famous post-war aviator’s wristwatch.

In addition, a very few examples were attributed to the pilots of the elite Aéronautique-Navale corps. Tests were made regularly at the CEV (Centre d'Essai
en Vol). Each of these chronographs was overhauled every year by the Dodane firm or by the Service officiel de contrôle de la marche des montres de Besançon (Cetehor). Property of the State, these watches were occasionally given to pilots as gifts. The Type XX chronograph wristwatch, very popular among pilots, underwent various technical and aesthetic evolutions.

The distinctive feature of the Type XX chronograph was its so-called ‘retour en vol’, or instantaneous flyback device. This function, highly appreciated by pilots and aeronautical authorities, was incorporated in both the Type XX chronograph wristwatch and in chronographs for aircraft dashboards. The ‘retour en vol’ device is a great time-saver which reduces three actions to one, allowing the chronograph hand to
return to zero by simply depressing the lower button – consequently, the zeroed chronograph hand can restart immediately. This technical feature was used on all generations of the Type XX chronograph wristwatch.

The first generation, made in the 1950s, was almost exclusively in stainless steel; only one example in 18K yellow gold is known. This extremely rare watch was sold by Antiquorum in October, 2000 (see opposite page). A very small number of these chronograph wristwatches made for the military were awarded to the best pilots of the French Air Force in return for brave and loyal service. Dials with radium-coated

hands and Arabic numerals can be found with either two or three registers indicating auxiliary seconds, 30 minutes and 12 hours. Revolving bezels are reeded or graduated on a scale of 1 to 12. Sometimes military codes are engraved on the screwed-down case back. As these watches, initially intended for the military, grew in popularity, in the 1970s Breguet launched a second generation for civilian use.

Although the second generation’s technical features are the same, as is the design of the dials, this Type XX is recognizable for its typically 1970s case design. The bezel is also radically different, with its black color and its graduation on a scale of 1 to 60. Both first and second generations are now considered highly sought-after collector's wristwatches.

The immediate success of these military watches, intended for a wider clientele, led Breguet to produce a third generation in 1995. To pay tribute to the close relationship of Breguet aeronautics and Breguet watchmaking throughout the 20th century, a new

generation of Type XX chronograph wristwatch was created. The main difference is that it is self-winding, whereas the first and second generations were manually
wound. It is available with three registers in two different versions and all types of materials. The "Aeronavale" has luminous hands and indexes on a black dial, whereas the "Transatlantique" has an aperture for the date indication with different dial colors. Whatever the version, the chronograph Type XX has
always retained the pioneering spirit of the Breguet family, while at the same time writing a new page in the history of wristwatches.

Although today most Breguet wristwatches still feature the characteristic dials, hands and cases conceived by the far-sighted genius of the firm’s founder, Abraham-Louis Breguet, the Type XX chronograph aviator's wristwatch possesses a personality all its own, which bears eloquent witness to the modernism and technological progress of the 20th century.