The short answer
If a watch is offered as a Breguet 7587 and the price is anything other than a serious five or six figure number, it is not the real thing. The 7587 is a skeletonized tourbillon from Breguet's Classique line, built in small batches and normally cased in gold. Genuine examples rarely reach the open market, which is precisely why replicas of it keep circulating. You can catch most of them by checking three things: the tourbillon and its finishing, the caseback engraving and hallmarks, and the paperwork.
Why this particular reference gets faked
Replica makers follow attention, not sales volume. An openworked tourbillon with sapphire components and a see-through dial is hard to photograph well, and hard photos hide a lot of sins. Most buyers have never handled a real 7587, so they compare a candidate against other photos online instead of against a watch. Add tiny production numbers and you get a reference where almost nobody has a reliable reference point. That gap is where fakes live.
The tourbillon is where fakes fall apart
A rotating cage is not proof of anything. Generic tourbillon calibers rotate once a minute just like the real movement, so motion alone tells you nothing. Look at finishing instead. On a genuine Breguet movement you should see crisp polished bevels along every bridge edge, black polished steel surfaces, screws with polished heads and clean slots, and a cage that catches light in hard, straight lines. On fakes the cage is often brushed or matte, the chamfers are rounded and soft, and the screw slots look stamped. Photograph the movement through the caseback with a macro lens or a phone on a stand, then zoom in. Softness at that magnification is the single most common giveaway.
Case, gold, and caseback engraving
Gold has a density you can feel, and replicas usually miss by a few grams in either direction. Genuine cases carry Swiss precious metal hallmarks plus the maker's mark, struck into the metal rather than lasered on top of it. Run a fingernail across the engraving. Real stamping leaves sharp edges and a slight ridge; laser engraving feels flat and shallow. The reference number, case number, and gold purity marks should all make sense together, and the case number should match whatever documentation comes with the watch. Reused numbers are common, so search the number you are given before you commit.
Dial work and hands
Engine-turned guilloché has raised ridges that catch light in bands as you tilt the watch. Printed imitation looks flat from every angle. Breguet hands have a distinctive hollow tip and are blued steel, not painted. On genuine dials the secret signature only appears at certain viewing angles under raking light. If the seller's photos show it clearly and flatly from straight on, be suspicious.
Papers, box, and the archive trail
Breguet can verify a specific case number through its archives, and that check is worth more than any seller's story. Numbers on the certificate should match the caseback and the movement. Replica boxes are usually heavier and glossier than the real thing, and printed paperwork uses generic typefaces with slightly wrong spacing. A watch with no box and no papers is not automatically fake, but the discount has to be large enough to explain the missing history.
Before you pay
- Ask for the case number and request an archive check from Breguet.
- Have a watchmaker with tourbillon experience open the case and photograph both sides of the cage.
- Weigh the watch and measure the case with calipers against published specifications.
- Compare the caseback engraving with photos of known genuine examples, side by side.
- Walk away from any deal that requires a bank transfer with no inspection.
None of this is exotic. It is the same diligence you would apply to any high value watch, applied a little harder because this reference is scarce and the fakes are patient.