Breguet Watches
Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823) is known as the “father of modern horology.” The Swiss horologist is responsible for the creation of many clock and watch innovations that are still used in timepieces today, including the self-winding watch, the tourbillon movement, the perpetual calendar, a shock absorption system and the first wristwatch.
Born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Breguet was introduced to watchmaking through his stepfather, watchmaker Joseph Tattet. As a teenager, he traveled to Versailles to apprentice under a master watchmaker. In 1775, he opened his own workshop on the Quai de l’Horloge in Paris. He was soon crafting timepieces for the French court, including Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, who purchased several Breguet designs. In 1783, one of her guards (and an ardent admirer) commissioned Breguet to design a gift for the Queen, asking him to develop the world’s most complicated timepiece. It would take 44 years to complete, and was finished by Breguet’s workshop in 1827, four years after his own death and 34 years after Marie Antoinette was executed. The Breguet No. 160 pocket watch, as Breguet’s 160th watch was officially called, is now in the Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem and was the subject of an infamous 1983 theft before it was recovered in 2006. Breguet now sells a reproduction of what is still the fifth most complicated watch in the world.
With a high quality of craftsmanship and meticulous design, as well as an ease of use and portability, Breguet watches have remained popular across the decades. Plenty of royals, politicians and virtuosos have acquired their own Breguet timepieces, including Queen Victoria, Napoléon Bonaparte, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ettore Bugatti and Sir Winston Churchill.
The house of Breguet is still in operation today with an enduring commitment to technical innovation in personal timekeeping. It was run by members of the Breguet family through 1870, after which it was sold to English watchmaker Edward Brown, whose family managed it for the next century. In 1970, the company changed hands to the French Chaumet family, and in 1999, it was acquired by the Swiss Swatch Group.
Find a range of Breguet wristwatches and pocket watches on 1stDibs.
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold
2010s Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Breguet Watches
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
White Gold
20th Century Swiss Breguet Watches
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
Yellow Gold
2010s Breguet Watches
Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Breguet Watches
White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Breguet Watches
Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Breguet Watches
Titanium
20th Century Breguet Watches
Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Contemporary Breguet Watches
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Breguet Watches
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
Yellow Gold, Silver
Early 2000s Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold
2010s Swiss Modern Breguet Watches
Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century French Art Deco Breguet Watches
18k Gold
Early 2000s Breguet Watches
18k Gold, Silver, Yellow Gold
1890s French Antique Breguet Watches
2010s Breguet Watches
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Breguet Watches
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
Diamond, Rose Gold
Early 2000s Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, White Gold
Early 2000s Breguet Watches
Titanium
2010s Italian Breguet Watches
White Gold, Silver
Breguet watches for sale on 1stDibs.
Creators Similar to Breguet
- Are Breguet watches hand made?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Partially. Breguet watches are crafted both by hand and by machine. The process is unique to each kind of watch, though much of the finishing of each timepiece is done by hand by Swiss-bases artisans. Browse a collection of authentic Breguet watches on 1stDibs.
- What is a spiral Breguet?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022A spiral Breguet refers to a pocket watch produced with a component called the Breguet balance spring. It gets its name from the coiled design of the part. Keep in mind that "spiral Breguet" is a nickname. The company never engraved these words on any of their timepieces. If you see the phrase on the back of a watch, it is likely counterfeit. Shop a variety of Breguet watches on 1stDibs.