Bréguet-Bréting

Jules Breguet-Bréting was a watch case fitter active in Le Locle by 1880. The firm moved to Bienne in 1906 and was taken over by his sons Bernard and André before ceasing operations in 1945. Bernard Breguet went on to register the Breguet trademark, which was acquired by Bolsa in 1956 and Chaumet in 1971 before becoming a company in its own right in 1980.

Jules Bréguet-Bréting

Jules-Henri Bréguet-Bréting of Neuchatel (son of Louis Bréguet) was active as a case fitter in Le Locle by 1880. The firm is listed in the 1883 review of businesses as being located at Rue des Envers 362. His family traced its roots to the Breguet who emigrated to France and included the famous watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, who died in Paris in 1823.

In 1887 Bréguet-Bréting partnered with Jean Duras of Geneva, renaming the company Breguet-Breting & Cie. By now the company was located at Rue des Billodes 240d and was focused on production of gold watch cases. This partnership only lasted a few months, with Duras leaving and the company once again simply called Jules Breguet-Breting by March of 1888.

In 1904 Jules Breguet-Breting received Swiss patent CH30756 for a "Mécanisme de remontage et de mise à l'heure par la tige de couronne." This patent was transferred to the Tavannes Watch company in October 1905.

On November 1, 1906, the company moved to Bözingenstrasse 50 in Bienne. Jules Bréguet-Bréting was joined by his sons Bernard and André, so the new firm was called Bréguet-Bréting et Fils. The new workshop allowed Bréguet-Bréting to produce complete watch cases in steel as well.

Les Fils de J. Bréguet-Bréting

The sons Bernard and André Bréguet-Bréting took over the firm fro their father in November 1908. The company was renamed Les Fils de J. Bréguet-Bréting and was a limited partnership between the two brothers. The firm continued to focus on high-end steel watch cases with gold plating and listed patents CH23033, CH27830, and CH30756 as assets. It was located at Route de Boujean 50 and even had a telephone extension.

In 1925 Les Fils de J. Bréguet-Bréting registered The Breguet Watch Case brand. They regieterest the names Bregor and Bernor in 1929 and 1930 along with a lion logo the following year. All of these trademarks were specifically for watch cases rather than finished watches.

In December 1942 Les Fils de J. Bréguet-Bréting created a worker pension and compensation fund. It was named Fonds de Prévoyance de la Maison Bréguet, showing that the firm had embraced the Bréguet name by this point. It was headed by Bernard Bréguet as president and his brother André Bréguet as vice president and was located at Feldeckstrasse 6 along with the parent company.

The company produced an ultra-thin waterproof case in the 1940s.

Bernard Bréguet moved to Nidau in 1944. He started a new company there producing pasta and bread, serving as the president with his father serving as secretary. André Bréguet formed a new firm, A. Bréguet, and took over the trademarks of the former partnership. Bernard Bréguet started an art import and export business under his own name in 1947 though it was almost immediately closed.

Bernard Breguet

Bernard Breguet, son of Jules Bréguet-Bréting, was born in Le Locle on April 7, 1882.

Montres Breguet

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.

Bolsa had been formed in Neuchâtel by Paul Böhlen of Riggisberg in 1942. It became a Société Anonyme called Bolor in 1945 and switched its name to Bolsa in 1946. It was officially called Bolsa Watch et Montres Breguet in 1956.

Bolsa registered the now-familiar script logo used by Breguet in July 1957, specifically adding the Montres Breguet name to their firm. Bernard Bréguet was removed from the board in 1962 and deleted the trademark. They transferred the B. Breguet brand back to Bernard Bréguet in 1962. Bolsa was liqiudated in 1971.