In the world of high-watchmaking, Breguet is an uncontested historical reference. The jewellery company continues to shine with its founder’s original spirit of innovation and utmost respect for its roots. This harmony is truly embodied by the company’s workshops, nested in the Joux Valley in Switzerland. We took the tour.
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Breguet, the Art of Craftsmanship on video
The scenery on the way to the workshop is simply inescapable: after a few hairpin bends between the terraced vineyards, flirting with a truly dominating view over Lake Léman featuring the Alps in the background, the road takes us towards the white crests of Col du Marchairuz before plunging back down into the Joux Valley. The coat of white snow is omnipresent and the locals are ready for it, armed with sledges and cross-country skis. After experiencing the dissolution of time itself on the mountain roads, we paradoxically enter the historical birthplace of high-watchmaking and the home of the Breguet workshops.
AN ODYSSEY IN TIME
The first wing we visited is an extension inaugurated in 2001, on 28 September to be precise, as indicated by a newspaper article embedded in the ground beneath our feet: great jewellers truly have a knack for all things legendary. In the workshop, the very latest machinery assembles smaller components; this vision of cutting-edge modernity is all the more striking due to the ballet of robotic arms taking place behind etched panes of glass carrying the inscription: “Breguet, Since 1775”. Yet technology should not be seen as contradictory to the values of this historical company. In fact, it facilitates the process for the watchmakers, who are about to set to work just a few rooms down. Surrounded by the smell of jewellery lathes, visitors quickly find themselves at ease in the lathing room. This part of the workshop is dedicated to a manufacturing process introduced by none other than Abraham-Louis Breguet. Watchmaking aficionados are sure to be subjugated by the characteristic crested waves of the brand’s Marine collection, appearing before their very eyes in the hands of a master lather. Breguet is also among the rare watchmaking companies to have integrated the art of high-art engraving to their craft, reaching absolute heights with the “Royal Louis” ship engraving, spanning across the different bridges of the brand’s Marine Equation Marchante. In this temple of time, Augusto, the head of the engraving workshop, is working on a tourbillon escapement. This design was originally patented on 26 June 1801 by the brand’s creator, who had just designed the queen of all watch escapements.
DREAM COMPLICATIONS
The various components are assembled a few floors above, in a room full of light with a view of Lac de Joux Lake. The watchmakers, however, are contemplating a rather different view through binocular lenses: they are focused on assembling, adjusting and integrating final elements such as chronographs, date indicators and other small complications. Larger complications are left in the hands of master watchmakers such as Eric. For many years, he has juggled between encasings and calibrations with, according to him, an unchanging amount of joy and precision. The same kind of passion drives the 4 watchmakers we encountered in the restoration room, located in the historical part of the workshop, busy reawakening their sleeping beauties. Bringing a timepiece back to life, such as a 1802 Toc watch, is an extremely lengthy process during which no detail can be ignored, down to the tiniest screws that need rebuilding. Something tells us that history will be made between these walls for many years to come… Suddenly, the face of a magnificent clock reminds us that time, although seemingly on pause during our visit, has continued to fly by just the same.
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