Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Breguet, the Unmistakable Signs – What makes a Breguet watch Unique?
One of the oldest and most respected brands fully explained with its 'Unmistakable Signs'
Today, we take a close look at one of the most respected brands of the entire industry, a brand with an extremely rich heritage, Breguet. This brand was named after its founder, Abraham-Louis Breguet, one of the most (if not the most) important watchmakers of his times. Back in the 18th century, Abraham-Louis Breguet revolutionized watchmaking with innovations such as the tourbillon, the perpetual calendar, the anti-shock device or the gong-spring. What fewer know is that A.L. Breguet was one of the first to implement the concept of brand and identity in watchmaking.
At the end of the 18th century, Breguet defined clear design codes to make his watches unique, immediately recognizable and protect them against counterfeit. Those signs, the so-called “Breguet Unmistakable Signs”, are still part of the modern watches that bear his name today.
Today, MONOCHROME takes you to the Breguet Museum in Paris and to the Breguet manufacture in Switzerland, where we’re going to meet Emmanuel Breguet, direct descendant of A.L. Breguet, Vice-President of Patrimony and Marketing, as well as Nakis Karapatis, Vice-President Head of Operations, in order to have a closer look at the Unmistakable Signs that make a Breguet watch unique.
In the following video, we’re going to look closely at the engine-turned (guilloché) dials, the enamel dials, the Breguet numerals, the off-centred displays, the Breguet hands, the secret signature, the single number, the caseband fluting and finally movement decoration.
More details at breguet.com.
8 responses
Superb video. Nice to see mine at 8m40s.
5157 demonstrates the essentials of Breguet.
Nice video. Some great designs
It’s nice to see these pieces moving. It gives a better appreciation of the quality. Could it be that Breguet is that rarest of horological animals? A high end watch that is fairly priced?
@ JAGOTW
Yes! That’s how I’ve come to see it, although I’m slightly biased. The neo-classical style that Breguet popularised in the early c19th which runs through their Classique collection – that Daniel Roth shares the credit for re-emphasising – can be seen as an influence in some exceptionally fine pieces from Journe, Voutilainen, and Smith (Jurgensen of course worked alongside Abraham-Louis in Paris for a while, so they can claim to be a co-influencer), and while all their watches are at an extremely high end of independent quality, Breguet’s pieces still have enough hand-work, and oodles of heritage, to be a relative steal; in today’s market anyway.
@Just Another Guy On The Web – I can remember my first visit to the Breguet manufacture… Really a great experience. I was expecting to see nice watches and good manufacturing… It went much further than that. The level of finishing and details, the quality of the movements, the hands, the cases… Not even talking about the amount of work on the guilloche dials. It is really impressive (and I’ve visited manyyyyy manufactures in Switzerland).
@Brice
They must have one of the biggest collections of Rose Engines anywhere.
@Gil – I can’t talk for all around the world and for all industries… but if we talk Swiss watchmaking, no doubt about what you said!