A far cry from collection names, which generally draw their origins from the history of a watch brand, the surrounding geography or even the vocabulary of romance, Breguet’s Type XX has a kind of mystical aura, like a cryptic message, an enigmatic charisma accentuated by its dark face.
However, like all military equipment, this tool intended for pilots and aircrew bears an administrative designation imposed by the French Air Force, which, in 1953, issued a call for tenders to watch manufacturers according to very precise specifications. The instrument had to be sturdy enough to withstand the extremes of temperature, humidity, altitude and speed, measure at least 38mm in diameter, feature a dark dial with oversized luminescent Arabic numerals for instant information, even at night, and incorporate a chronograph with flyback function, easy to operate with thick gloves. The following year, in 1954, Breguet’s mastery of the flyback function led to the company being chosen by the French Air Force, the Armée de l’Air and then the Aéronautique Navale, to manufacture these watches, the Type 20 for the former and the Type XX for the latter, a spelling difference devised to differentiate the models specially developed to meet the technical needs of each military entity.
