01.3.1 breguet

THE WORLD’S NUMBER ONE LUXURY WATCHMAKER

Given Montres Breguet’s well-known support of the arts and culture, it was only natural for the brand to take its place in The Swatch Art Peace Hotel, one of China’s most significant cultural landmarks. The ground-floor boutique’s contemporary design draws its inspiration from period Breguet timepieces such as those on display at the Breguet Museum in Paris, and its style is a perfect match for that of The Swatch Art Peace Hotel.

The cylindrical perimeter of the Breguet area adds character to the Hotel’s historic former ballroom, whose sharp angles on the ceiling and pillars contrast with the cool perfection of the boutique. Its interior space is enhanced by royal blue engraved glass representing the guilloché enamel of French Empress Josephine’s pocket watch. Sales areas are located behind airy walls of slim golden struts suggestive of a three-dimensionally guillochéed dial, one of the brand’s most typical features.

Following its acquisition by Swatch Group in 1999, Montres Breguet moved rapidly into the number one position in luxury watchmaking. Under the leadership of the late Nicolas G. Hayek, the creativity and ingenuity of Breguet grew remarkably: the number of patents granted exceeds the number of inventions recorded by its founder, A.-L. Breguet (1747–1823).

Today the brand continues to strengthen its dominant role in the development of watchmaking mechanics, devoting significant investments to research and development and to the enhancement of its manufacturing facilities. The recruitment of highly qualified watchmakers remains a priority as well. Breguet’s in-house design team develops the completely original movements that will drive the timepieces of tomorrow, along with new models that interpret the brand’s aesthetic values in a novel manner. At the heart of the brand’s strategy lies the drive to perfect innovative manufacturing processes, through synergies with Swatch Group. This confirms Breguet’s proven capacity to reinvent and revolutionize watchmaking to satisfy the requirements of an extremely sophisticated clientele. It also led the brand to launch, in 2002, its very successful prestige jewelry line.

Since joining Swatch Group Breguet has increased its turnover considerably while continuing to limit production volumes, and has put in place an effective and dynamic international distribution network. The brand has also enhanced its position as a key player in Haute Horlogerie by opening boutiques in a number of the world’s most prestigious cities, including Paris, Cannes, New York, Geneva, London, Seoul, Dubai, Tokyo and Shanghai. For more information, please visit breguet.com.