Breguet Watches at European Watch Co.

Breguet’s annual production is roughly 18,000 pieces. This might seem low in comparison to some of its competitors, but even though the company is part of the Swatch Group and has access to its vast resources, Breguet makes most of their movements and components in-house. While this practice slows down production, it also ensures a superior level of quality and craftsmanship. Because of this practice, Breguet has been able to claim many important innovations in the field of horology, the most famous of which is the tourbillon. Developed by the brand’s founder Abraham Louis Breguet to counter the adverse impact of gravity on a watch movement, the tourbillon was patented in Paris in June of 1801.

Since 1999, Breguet has been owned by the Swatch Group, which also holds several other Swiss brands in its portfolio, including Omega, Blancpain, and Glashutte Original. After the company’s founding in 1775, the brand stayed in family hands until 1870 when it was sold to Edward Brown, the Breguet factory manager. The Brown family ran the business until 1970, after which it changed hands several times before ultimately finding its current home within the Swatch Group in the late 90’s.

Breguet was founded by Abraham Louis Breguet in Paris in 1775 making it one of the oldest continuously operated watch manufacturers in the world. The company initially gained fame for creating extremely complicated pocket watches including the most famous pocket watch ever produced, the “Marie Antoinette”, which took 44 years to complete.

Abraham Louis Breguet designed the style of watch hands, now known as ‘Breguet hands’ in 1783. The signature element of his creation is the hollow circle near the tip of both the minute and hour hands, creating a distinctly elegant and delicate style that became an instant success. The style was a stark contrast to the more robustly engineered watch hands most other manufacturers used at the time. The term “Breguet hands” has since become a well-known watchmaker’s term.

Breguet’s success made him a target for counterfeiters early on in the company’s history. To deter imitators from selling watches bearing his name, Breguet came up with his secret signature to authenticate each watch leaving his workshop. The secret signature is etched into the dial in such a way that it only becomes visible when viewed from a specific angle. The same method is still applied to this day, assuring the owner that they are in the possession of a genuine Breguet timepiece.