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Mixed martial artist Conor McGregor spotted wearing Breguet

Conor McGregor appeared on the cover of GQ Magazine wearing the Breguet Classique reference 5178BR in 18KT rose gold — a choice that cuts against the oversized, diamond-set pieces typically associated with combat sports celebrity, and suggests a collector with genuine taste for horological heritage.

The Breguet Classique 5178BR is one of the manufacture's purest expressions of the style Abraham-Louis Breguet himself pioneered in late 18th-century Paris. The 38mm rose gold case houses Calibre 574, an extraordinarily flat manually wound movement at just 2.4mm thick, offering a 60-hour power reserve. The silvered dial features a hand-engraved guilloché centre executed on the same rose engine lathes Breguet has used for generations, framed by a chapter ring with Roman numerals and the characteristic off-centre small seconds. The blued steel Breguet hands — coin-edged, hollow-tipped — remain the brand's most recognisable design detail and trace directly to Abraham-Louis's original patents.

Within the collector community, the Classique 5178 occupies a position of quiet respect. It is not a complicated watch, but it demands appreciation of craft over complication. The movement finishing — circular graining, bevelled bridges, polished steel components — is executed to a standard that few manufactures at any price point match. For serious collectors, the 5178BR represents Breguet's argument that a simple time-only piece, done with absolute integrity, needs nothing else.

McGregor has built a public persona that consciously references European luxury — Rolls-Royce, bespoke tailoring, fine whiskey. The Breguet Classique 5178BR fits that narrative precisely. Appearing on a GQ cover rather than a fight poster, he is presenting a version of himself defined by cultivated wealth rather than sporting aggression. A dress watch from one of horology's oldest and most intellectually serious houses serves that purpose effectively.

The Breguet Classique 5178BR carries a UK list price of approximately £23,000. In USD terms, retail sits in the mid-to-high thirty-thousand dollar range. On the secondary market the reference trades at modest premiums or slight discounts to retail depending on condition, reflecting steady rather than speculative demand — consistent with a watch that attracts buyers who intend to wear it.