Breguet Marine Royale Alarm 45mm Review
Let’s dive deep into a review of a dive watch from a highly respected watchmaker who made the Marine chronometers for the French Royal Navy.
Breguet Marine Royale Alarm 45mm Review
From its polished 18kt white gold case to the rugged build and immaculately finished mechanical movement, the Marine Royal Alarm will captivate you and draw you in. The round case measures 45mm and uses a combination of a brushed and polished finish. The notched bezel rotates in one direction and has Arabic numerals in a classic serif font engraved from between the 4 and 5 o’clock position to between the 11 and 12 o’clock position. While this is a pretty large case, it wears like a smaller watch since, on the dial, the Roman Numerals are towards the center of the black dial with a wavy pattern along the perimeter. There seems to be a lot happening on the dial. I’ll break it down so you can understand what these different things are.
The flat brushed black chapter ring running through the middle of the dial has vibrant blue luminous dots that are used to indicate where the alarm function is set to. The central blue arrow tipped hand, is the alarm hand. This is a self-winding 12-hour alarm. It can be set and changed by the rubber-coated crown between the 4 o’clock and 5 o’clock position on the right side of the case. The alarm’s on/off function can easily be controlled with the ribbed wavy-shaped button located at the 8 o’clock position on the left side of the case.
Diamond-shaped hour markers run around the edge of the dial and are filled with a glow-in-the-dark luminous material in a lighter shade of blue than the alarm. This was done to distinguish the difference between the luminous material used for the timekeeping functions versus the additional functions such as the power reserve indicator at the 10 o’clock position and the previously mentioned alarm function.
A date aperture is located at the 6 o’clock position of the dial. And in the very center of the dial is a section with the Breguet Marine’s signature wavy shape. This one radiates outward from the center with a wavy guilloche textured pattern. This same guilloche pattern is on the outer rim of the dial where the hour markers and finely printed seconds track are located.
This Breguet Marine watch has Breguet's signature coined edge on the side of the case with its ribbed texture. Protruding on the right side of the case between the two winding crowns is a tilde shaped polished ratchet that keeps the bezel rotating unidirectionally. The case has polished lugs that bend at a slightly ‘J’ shaped angle and a textured rubber strap connects with these lugs using small polished screws. The rubber strap is fastened to the wrist with a polished 18kt white gold deployant (folding) buckle.
The transparent sapphire case back it what you will most likely find the most fascinating since it reveals the engine that provides the heartbeat of this watch. You’re looking at the in-house Breguet caliber 519r self-winding (automatic) movement which beats at a steady rate of 4Hz or 28,800 VpH. This 36-jewel movement has a solid 18kt white gold rotor which is artistically decorated with a textured spiral wave pattern. Other plates in the movement use a combination of different finishes and pink sapphire watch jewels can be seen peppered on the various plates. The Breguet 519r caliber has an estimated power reserve of =/- 45 hours. The case back is fastened together tightly with six polished screws and provides for a water resistance rating of 300m/1000ft water resistance.
Summary: This watch comes from a respected watchmaker whose name is synonymous with inventiveness and innovation in horology. The Features on this watch are some that you won’t normally see on a diver’s watch. It has a nice larger trendy size of 45mm, provides excellent visibility especially in low light conditions. It offers great water resistance for some light diving and snorkeling and is durable enough that it can be worn daily. If the rubber strap is too casual for you, a metal bracelet can either be ordered from Breguet or you can simply opt for the model that comes on an 18kt gold bracelet.