jkingston
356
A bit of Breguet History
Answering your question is hard. The founder of Breguet was Abraham-Louis Breguet. Although it is true that he opened his watch shop in Paris (the year 1775 and the place on the Quai de l'Horloge.....the building is still there), he was a Swiss by birth. For a time, Breguet fled France (after the revolution) and took refuge in Switzerland. So was he a Swiss brand or a French brand during these times? After two years, Breguet returned to France where he lived for the remainder of his life. He died in 1823. Thereafter his son took over the business.
There have been some ownership changes over time. For many years, Breguet was owned by Chaumet, the French jeweler. They sold Breguet to Investcorp and Arab holding company that also owned Vacheron at the same time. So was Breguet then a Middle Eastern brand? A Swiss brand, where the watches were in fact made and where it had its offices?
Investcorp was not a great owner.....either for Breguet or for Vacheron. Much of the watchmaking for both was contracted to outsiders in Switzerland. Thus, the best thing that ever happened to Breguet was the purchase by Swatch Group that brought it back to life. The investments that have been made are enormous with a huge watchmaking facility now in L'Orient in the Vallee de Joux and offices just down the road in L'Abbaye. No questions now about the Swissness of Breguet.
What year did Breguet leave France with Swatch?
I understand that Breguet was originally a French brand but I am curious as to what year the company left France for it's new home in Switzerland? I guess this year would be the bench mark to determine whether an owners watch is actually a French or Swiss...
A bit of Breguet History
Answering your question is hard. The founder of Breguet was Abraham-Louis Breguet. Although it is true that he opened his watch shop in Paris (the year 1775 and the place on the Quai de l'Horloge.....the building is still there), he was a Swiss by birth. ...
Aahh.. Indeed, that is one nice "piece of evidence"; love the original handy Chaumet boxes !.. :))
A classy box for my Breguet Type XX Best, hs ...
From 1970 to 1999
To make it short, when Chaumet acquired Breguet in 1970, the Parisian "factory" was a very small workshop. There was only few watches in stock and the famous archives. A couple of watchmakers were taking care and serviced the old breguet watches. Chaumet ...
Great reading
Wow, All this information is terrific and makes me feel more connected with the Breguet brand. I don't suppose anyone has any pictures of the original French building pre 1976? I think you guys should write a script for a movie from the early Breguet as a...
I think some eduacation on Breguet is needed here
not being rude...... Start with the 'most prestigous and greatest watchmaker of all time'...........
Photos of the original pre 1976 HQ
Does anyone have photos of the original French pre 1976 Breguet factory/shop (internal and/or external), they would be very interesting to see?
