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| WATCH YOUR TIME
FOCUS
F O C U S
The Master of Time
GREGORY KISSLING | CEO BREGUET
Breguet is celebrating its 250th anniver-
sary with a year of global events and a
suite of exceptional launches.
Wearing a watch on the wrist, enjoying the conven-
ience of automatic winding, reading the time by touch
in the dark, benefiting from exceptional precision via a
tourbillon regulator and shock protection, reserving a
watch through pre-order, admiring a finely guilloché
dial… What we take for granted in watchmaking today
were once revolutionary innovations. In the 18th cen-
tury, these were groundbreaking achievements, and
they all stemmed from the visionary genius of a single
man: Abraham-Louis Breguet.
“We owe him an extraordinary number of inventions
and refinements that remain relevant today,” explains
Gregory Kissling, the CEO of Breguet since autumn 2024.
“There’s a reason he’s regarded as the father of modern
watchmaking, speaking both technically and aestheti-
cally. Breguet is the only brand regularly referenced by
name by our industry colleagues as when they mention
Breguet hands, Breguet numerals, the Breguet overcoil,
the gong spring, or the tourbillon — the list goes on. And
the most remarkable part is that all these innovations
were designed with the end user in mind.”
The golden thread
Celebrating this exceptional legacy, the maison is
marking 250 years of uninterrupted history — no small
feat. But where to begin?
“Breguet’s story is so rich and layered that we’ve struc-
tured the year into nine chapters, each with a key product
unveiling or event,” says Kissling. “Every stage introduces
one or more new models, drawn from our core collec-
tions and tied closely to our heritage. It’s a world tour
that will culminate at the Château de Versailles.” And
this is no coincidence, Versailles being home to Queen
Marie-Antoinette, for whom Breguet created what is,
perhaps, the most exceptional watch in horological his-
tory. The common thread winding through this year-
long celebration is a defining material: Breguet Gold.
A new, proprietary alloy that mixes silver, copper and
palladium with gold, offers greater resistance to discol-
ouration and enhanced stability compared to conven-
tional alloys and its softly pink-toned yellow is directly
inspired by the 18th-century alloys used by watchmakers
of Breguet’s era.
All the pieces presented in this celebration of two and
half centuries of history feature this new alloy, includ-
ing the first commemorative model revealed in Paris
this April, a decision that was bound to create a surprise.
Rather than the expected technical showcase of gears
and complications, Breguet have chosen a purer, simpler
tribute to the character of the era with the beautifully
pared-back Classique Souscription. Characteristically,
the watch has a single pomme-style hand and a pris-
tine white grand feu enamel dial, of exceptional clar-
ity and legibility. More importantly, it recalls a pivotal
moment in Breguet’s post-Revolution history: the sub-
scription model with which he launched his watchmak-
ing business. Innovatively, Breguet distributed handbills
inviting clients to secure their watches by ‘subscrib-
ing’ (hence ‘Souscription’) a deposit of 25%. In an era
where most almost all watches were made individu-
ally, the 700 orders that his scheme generated funded
his new business and kept his workshops busy for the
next thirty years.
Instant Recognition
Following the Classique Souscription, came the
Tradition Seconde Rétrograde 7035, presented in
Shanghai. This model introduced a new guilloché pat-
tern to a model that has come to exemplify Breguet in the
21st Century and was followed by two Type XX chron-
ographs launched in New York, both equipped with
high-frequency movements and exceptional finishing.
What drew Gregory Kissling to the Tradition model
was its very essence: “That deep perspective view into
the movement reveals the complexity and refinement
that define every Breguet timepiece. To me, that’s the
core of Breguet’s DNA — a strong visual identity, instantly
recognisable and full of character.”
That character is further emphasised by translucent
enamel over the new “Quai de l’Horloge” guilloché pat-
tern, a nod to Breguet’s historic Paris workshop. It is
also evident in the latest Type XX models, which hon-
our the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Paris to
New York in 1930. The 37-hour journey was completed
aboard a Breguet 19 aircraft — the brainchild of Abraham-
Louis’s great-great-grandson, an aviation pioneer in his
own right.
Genius clearly runs in the family. ■ Éric Dumatin
1. BREGUET Tradition Seconde Rétrograde 7035. Part of the
Tradition collection, which pays tribute to A.-L. Breguet through
its movement-centric architecture, this piece features several
brand exclusives: Breguet Gold, Breguet Blue, and the ‘Quai de
l’Horloge’ guilloché, all created for the 250th anniversary of the
Maison. On the reverse, a crescent-shaped platinum rotor echoes
historical motifs. This 38 mm automatic Tradition model includes
a discreet retrograde small-seconds at 7 o’clock and is a limited
edition of 250 pieces.
2. BREGUET Classique Souscription 2025. Purity defines this
40 mm watch inspired by historical Souscription models. It dis-
plays only the hours – with remarkable precision for a watch of
this type. On the reverse, the Breguet Gold case is decorated with
‘Quai de l’Horloge’ guilloché, while inside is the new manually
wound calibre VS00, which has a four-day power reserve. The
massive ratchet wheel is engraved with A.-L. Breguet’s original
description of the movement taken from the taken directly from
the prospectus he produced.