Breguet Watches
Known for high-quality craftsmanship and meticulous design as well as ease of use and portability, Breguet wristwatches and pocket watches have remained quite popular throughout history.
Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823) is commonly called 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 and a shock absorption system. Breguet is also credited with having designed 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.
Breguet 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.
Plenty of royals, politicians and virtuosos have acquired their own Breguet timepieces, including Queen Victoria, Napoleon Bonaparte, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ettore Bugatti and Sir Winston Churchill.
The world’s first known wristwatch — delivered in 1812 — was created by Abraham-Louis Breguet for Caroline Murat, the queen of Naples (and Napoleon Bonaparte’s sister). By the 1930s, wristwatches comprised the bulk of watch manufacturing in America, superseding the pocket watch.
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. Breguet’s Reine de Naples drew on the founder’s watch for Murat and introduced an unusual ovate case to a receptive public in 2001.
Find a range of vintage Breguet wristwatches and pocket watches on 1stDibs.
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
Diamond, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Breguet Watches
White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Breguet Watches
White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
Stainless Steel, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Breguet Watches
18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
White Gold
19th Century Swiss Antique Breguet Watches
Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
18k Gold, White Gold
Early 2000s Breguet Watches
Yellow Gold, 18k Gold, Silver
Mid-20th Century French Art Deco Breguet Watches
18k Gold
1890s French Antique Breguet Watches
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Breguet Watches
Diamond, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
18k Gold, Rose Gold
2010s Breguet Watches
Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Breguet Watches
Rose Gold
2010s Swiss Modern Breguet Watches
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Contemporary Breguet Watches
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Breguet Watches
18k Gold
Early 2000s Breguet Watches
18k Gold
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.