Short answer
A fake Breguet 5287 is a replica of the Breguet Classique Chronograph reference 5287. The genuine watch is a hand-wound gold chronograph from the Breguet Classique line. Replicas come in three levels: quartz copies, automatic copies, and hand-wound copies that use a Chinese chronograph movement. None of them use Breguet calibre 533.2. Replica cases are gold-plated steel, not solid gold, and the serial numbers do not match Breguet service records.
What the genuine 5287 is
Breguet built the 5287 in the Classique collection in yellow gold, white gold, rose gold, and platinum. Case size is listed between 38 mm and 39 mm depending on the source, so measure the case you are comparing, not the listing text. The dial is silvered gold with hand-turned guilloche patterns, Roman numerals, and blued steel hands. The movement is Breguet calibre 533.2, a hand-wound chronograph built on a Lemania architecture. Production ran through the 1990s and 2000s.
Breguet has not published one consolidated spec sheet that covers every 5287 variant. Metal, dial layout, and case numbers change between versions. Confirm those three items against the exact reference you are checking.
Levels of replica
- Quartz. A battery movement under a chronograph dial. Pushers often do nothing. Case thickness is close to spec, but weight is low.
- Automatic. Uses an Asian or Japanese automatic chronograph movement. The rotor adds height, so the case is thicker than the genuine watch. Date and subdial positions can drift from the real layout.
- Hand-wound. Uses a Seagull ST19 or a similar Chinese hand-wound chronograph. This is the closest match in profile and thickness. Movement finishing is below Breguet standard.
Tells that separate a fake
- Guilloche. Genuine dials are cut on a rose engine. The pattern lines are sharp, deep, and continuous. Stamped or printed patterns look shallow, and the lines fade at the edges.
- Dial text. Genuine Breguet dials carry an engraved signature on many Classique models. Fakes print the name and the number.
- Hands. Genuine hands are blued steel with polished bevels. Replica hands are painted or chemically blued, and they sit thicker.
- Caseback. Look at engraving depth and font. Laser etching on fakes sits flat and bright. Genuine stamps and engravings are deeper and softer at the edge.
- Crown and pushers. Genuine 5287 cases use a coin-edge crown. Check thread pitch and pusher travel.
- Weight and thickness. A solid gold case weighs more than a plated one. A rotor-driven fake is thicker than the real watch.
- Numbers. The movement number, caseback number, and papers should match. Replica numbers do not return a record from Breguet.
Price
Used genuine 5287 examples trade in the mid four to low five figures in US dollars, based on metal, condition, and paperwork. Auction results move with the market. Replica versions run from about $150 for quartz to about $700 for a hand-wound copy. A solid gold Breguet at a replica price is not a genuine watch.
Before you buy
Ask for photos of the movement, the caseback engraving, and the dial under angled light. Compare the guilloche pattern against a known genuine photo of the same variant. Check the case diameter with calipers. Ask for the service history and the original papers if the seller claims the watch is genuine. If the seller cannot show matching numbers, treat the watch as a replica and price it that way.