Montres Breguet

See Also: Breguet for other uses of the name

Breguet is a Swiss watch manufacture, currently part of the Swatch Group's Prestige and Luxury division. It is named in homage to watchmaking pioneer Abraham-Louis Breguet, though there is no direct historical link between the modern brand and his workshop.

The current Breguet company is descended directly from watch case manufacturer Bernard Bréguet-Bréting, who registered the current script logo in 1957 at Bolsa. The brand was acquired by the Chaumet brothers around 1970 but they struggled to bring the name back. Breguet officially re-launched in 1983, was purchased by Investcorp in 1987, and was taken over by Swatch Group in 1999 along with Nouvelle Lemania.

Short survey

The name of this famous luxury watch manufacturer comes from Abraham-Louis Breguet, who is considered the foremost watchmaker and inventor in the history of the watch. The appearance of the watches still has the basic features of the models made by Abraham-Louis Breguet: classic, often guilloché dial with Roman numerals, Breguet hands and cannellated case in solid gold. The brand Breguet is one of the undisputed top brands in the highest-priced segment of the watch market.

The beginnings

Abraham-Louis Breguet founded a watch workshop in Paris in 1775. Initially the focus was on the finishing of foreign ebauche movements, but soon followed the production of pocket watches with his own movement, oriented at Lépine. In 1798 Breguet presented his free escapement with "constant pressure" at a national exhibition. From this time his success could not be stopped any more. Even Tsar Alexander, during a visit to Paris, used the opportunity to visit the studio of the great maître.

In 1808 Breguet's son Louis entered the firm as a partner and continued business after Breguet's death. From then on the manufacture was called "Breguet et fils".

Further history

After the death of its founder in 1823 the manufacture, under the guidance of his nephew, Louis-Antoine, last direct descendant of the Breguet family, adapts the name "Breguet Neveu & Cie". He begins a collaboration with Edward Brown, an Englishman, who becomes the sole owner of the manufacture in 1870. From generation to generation the manufacture under the Browns often relocated their headquarters.

Bernard Bréguet and Bolsa

1956 ad for Montres Breguet in La Suisse Horlogère

See Also: Bréguet-Bréting and Bolsa

Bernard Breguet (1882-1968), son of Jules Bréguet-Bréting, was born in Le Locle on April 7, 1882. The family moved to Bienne in 1896 as his father took over production of cases at La Centrale. With his brother André, Bernard Bréguet-Bréting took over the family firm in 1908 and operated it through 1945. In 1950 Bernard Bréguet registered the trademark "B. Breguet" for use on watches. He joined the board of the Bolsa watch company in 1956, transferring the B. Breguet trademark to the company.

In July 1957 the company officially received the Montres Breguet trademark, and the script name continues to be used to this day. The company also registered the Coronet brand at this time.

Breguet branded wristwatches were advertised in 1956 and 1957, with the producer named as "Montres Breguet Neuchatel" and using the script Breguet name on the dial. Two models are shown, called "Perles d'Or" ("gold pearl") for the 12 golden balls used to mark the hours around the dial. They were modern dress watches with crosshair or radial inner dials in Calatrava or straight lug cases. The advertisements also featured the image of A.-L. Breguet as "Le plus illustre horloger" and the Neuchâtel Observatory as "centre scientifique de l'horlogerie."

Bernard Bréguet was removed from the board in 1962 and deleted the trademark. This appears to be the end of this iteration of Montres Breguet, and it is unclear who held the trademark in the 1960s, though there are no Breguet-branded watches advertised in this period. On February 1, 1971, Montres Bolsa was liquidated, apparently taken over by another firm.

Chaumet

In 1970 the Breguet brand was acquired by Parisian jewelers Jacques and Pierre Chaumet, reportedly for "a modest sum." The brand was essentially defunct at this time, and the Chaumet brothers hired jeweler François Bodet to manage their Les Temporelles watch boutique in Place Vendôme in 1972. In 1975 Bodet was tasked with reviving the Breguet brand, which he approached as a jeweler and with deep appreciation for the history of the brand and the image of luxury it connoted. Working with watchmakers Daniel Roth and Louis-Maurice Caillet and designer Gérald Genta, Breguet first launched a perpetual calendar to re-establish its reputation. According to Bodet, the brand sold 500-700 watches, mainly through the Chaumet retail stores, prior to 1983.

The earliest Breguet-branded watches to appear in print date to the final 1981 issue of Europa Star. A pocket watch and wristwatch are pictured, both with skeletonized movements visible through an open dial. The watch features Roman numerals, though Breguet-style numerals were widely used with this name since the 1960s. The company is noted to be located in Le Brassus.

Breguet first exhibited at Basel 83 and the brand quickly accelerated. The firm showed Ref. 3910, an extra-flat watch in a gold case with automatic movement, moon phase indicator at 1:30, date by pointer at 6, and power reserve indicator at 10:30. It also uses Roman numerals rather than Breguet. A 1983 article in Europa Star includes five essential styling elements for a Breguet watch: Milled sides, rounded lugs, engine turned dials with an inset center, Breguet hands, and a solid gold buckle. Two time-only Breguet watches were shown at Montres et Bijoux in Geneva later that year.

In 1987 Bodet (now general manager of the brand) began working on a tourbillon, the signature complication invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet. It was launched in 1990 as Ref. 3350, the signature model for the brand in the 1990s.

Chaumet was bankrupt and Breguet was purchased in 1987 by Investcorp. The company soon purchased Nouvelle Lemania to supply mechanical movements, forming Group Breguet and driving sales to 4,700 per year by 1993.

Swatch Group

On September 14, 1999 Breguet together with the Nouvelle Lemania is taken over by the Swatch Group. Today the watch production is performed in L'Abbaye in the Vallée de Joux (canton of Neuchatel).

Breguet produced "around 30,000 watches" in 2013 according to company President, Marc Hayek.

Literature

• Das ZEITGEFÜHL-Uhrenbuch; Author: Gerd-Lothar Reschke; ISBN 3-938607-61-0

Address

Montres Breguet SA
CH-1344 L'Abbaye

Tel. 021 / 841 90 90
Fax 021 / 841 90 84

Timeline

• 1980, October 14 - A new public limited company called Montres Breguet SA is established in Le Brassus for "the operation of all business of the manufacture and sale of Breguet brand watches, watchmaking, the manufacture and sale of all jewelry, jewelry, goldsmithing objects; the acquisition and acquisition of all patents, licenses, processes and trademarks; all real estate operations, related to the above objects"; share capital was 400,000 francs; the board of directors consisted of Jacques Chaumet, president, Pierre Chaumet, vice-president, Roger Dunant, secretary, and members Joseph Goetschmann and Alain Layat; the company was located at Route de France 26 in Le Brassus
• 1987, April - Jacques Chaumet, president, and Pierre Chaumet, vice-president, now sign collectively with Roger Dunant, secretary, or directors Joseph Goetschmann or Alain Layat
• 1987, September - Jacques Chaumet and Pierre Chaumet are no longer directors; Jean Guéroult is appointed president, Joseph Goetschmann is appointed vice-president, and François Bodet is appointed director
• 1987, November - Jean Guéroult, Joseph Goetschmann, Roger Dunant, and Alain Layat resigned as directors; Elias Hallack is named President, Wolfgang Peter is named secretary, and Bernhard Cron is named a director

See Also

• Bréguet-Bréting - Bienne case maker that originally registered the Breguet watch brand

Weblinks

• Breguet (official site)
• Marc Hayek, cautious but confident