The Marine Hora Mundi 5555 is more than a watch. It’s Breguet celebrating 250 years of watchmaking by rewriting its own story with an object that fuses innovation, artistry, and horological complexity. Only 50 pieces will ever exist, and each one carries details that reveal the Manufacture’s deep understanding of both tradition and modernity.
Hora Mundi means “world time” in Latin. For collectors, it’s a poetic name that becomes literal once you study the dial. The display is constructed in two layers: a gold guilloché base and a sapphire overlay. The base is decorated with fine meridians and parallels, creating the illusion of a curved globe even though the surface is flat. The color gradient, shifting from sky blue to navy, captures the meeting of sea and sky. On top, a sapphire disc is hand-painted on both sides in miniature enamel. Continents are drawn in mirror image on the reverse, then fired at high temperature. Clouds are applied on the front, varying with each watch, so no two dials are the same. The finishing touch is phosphorescent enamel applied to cities, giving the impression of Earth’s lights glowing at night. This material choice is significant – it’s not Super-LumiNova, but a handcrafted enamel that carries the permanence and refinement of traditional métiers d’art.
The 5555 is also the first Marine to appear in Breguet gold. Its polished central attachment and anniversary guilloché caseback motif, the Quai de l’Horloge, emphasize its celebratory role in the brand’s history. A sapphire crystal on the back opens the view to calibre 77F1, whose oscillating weight is also crafted in Breguet gold. This self-winding movement beats at 4 Hz, offers 55 hours of reserve, and integrates a silicon escapement. It’s protected by multiple patents covering its dual time-zone system, mechanical memory, and instantaneous display.
Mechanically, the Hora Mundi remains a marvel. The 77F1 allows the wearer to pre-program two time zones, each with its own date. Switching between them is done with a push of the 8 o’clock crown, and the transition is instantaneous – time, date, and day/night indicator all change at once. Behind that apparent simplicity lies a web of cams, hammers, and differentials that calculate and synchronize displays with precision. It’s a complication aimed not at abstract showmanship but at practical use for travelers.
The case measures 43.9 mm across and 13.80 mm thick, offering water resistance to 100 metres. It comes on a navy alligator strap with a gold triple-blade folding clasp, plus an additional rubber strap for versatility.
At €104,700 (check our list of the most expensive watches), the Marine Hora Mundi 5555 is not simply priced as a watch but as a rare work of art. Each collector can also personalize the list of cities corresponding to the 24 time zones, a detail that makes the complication even more intimate. And unlike other anniversary editions, this one doesn’t just look back at Breguet’s history – it projects it forward, integrating artisanal métiers with technical patents, aesthetics inspired by NASA’s Black Marble photography, and a case material used here for the first time.
It’s rare for a single watch to carry so many “firsts” while still speaking with Breguet’s unmistakable voice. The Marine Hora Mundi 5555 does exactly that: a globe captured in enamel and gold, engineered with patents and guilloché, and destined for just 50 wrists worldwide.
