Breguet celebrates the 200th anniversary of the wristwatch

Written by: Vanessa Formato

There is much more to watches than beauty and precision. Little do some consumers know, wristwatches have a long and interesting history, one that the big players in the luxury timepiece world enjoy celebrating. From January 16 to February 12, 2012, Breguet will be commemorating the 200th anniversary of the wristwatch in time to coincide with the annual Salon Internacional de la Haute Horologie (SIHH).

For just under one month, Breguet will be holding an exhibition in Geneva’s Cité du Temps to celebrate the anniversary, one that is very close to the company’s heart.

In 1810, Caroline Murat, the Queen of Naples and Napoleon’s sister, ordered a custom timepiece from Abraham-Louis Berguet. A.-L. Berguet had been a renowned watchmaker for some time and Murat had admired his work. It took two years for the piece to be completed and delivered, and in those two years Breguet unknowingly changed the watch business. The watch he gave to Murat would be the world’s first wristwatch, a functional piece of jewelry that, even today in the age of cell phones, many people cannot imagine living without.

Breguet was also a favorite in the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Today, the brand continues to produce watches for people that enjoy the most luxurious aspects of life.

The dates of the Breguet exhibition coincide with the SIHH, one of the most prestigious events in the watchmaking industry. The event usually includes brands premiering new collections and opportunities for members of the community to network with one another. It is invitation only. Breguet’s event will surely be one that the SIHH participants– which include well-known fine watch brands such as Audemars Piguet, Cartier and Panerai– will not want to miss. Though the story of the wristwatch is uniquely important to Breguet, it is also the story behind every wristwatch no matter the brand.

Breguet will also be “immortali[zing] the [tenth] anniversary of its stellar Reine de Naples ladies’ watch connection.” It is quite fitting that Breguet will be taking the opportunity to recognize their more modern achievements at this time. Looking back upon the successes of the past would ring hollow without a future to look forward to, and Breguet has, with hard work and a beautiful aesthetic, created a brand that is sure to continue being a large part of the history and mythology of horology.