Appointed to the top job at Breguet just under a year ago, Gregory Kissling trained as a movement constructor and spent most of his career leading Omega’s product development. A native of the Vallee de Joux, Mr Kissling is now in charge of one of the most revered names in watchmaking, which this year celebrates its 250th year.

Aided by his background in product and long tenure at Swatch Group, the parent of Breguet, Mr Kissling is off to a running start. He has already made his mark with anniversary editions like the Classic Souscription, a simple but smart creation I rate highly, and holds ambitions to elevate the brand to where it should be.

He was recently in Singapore to open Breguet’s new boutique in Ion Orchard, a mall on the city’s premier shopping street, and I got my first face-to-face with him since he assumed the role. We discussed his plans for the brand founded by Abraham-Louis Breguet, ranging from an increased emphasis on artisanal craft, to Breguet design, and even one-off or custom watches.

The interview was edited for length and clarity.

SJX: You have one of the most interesting and exciting jobs in the Swiss watch industry; you have taken over one of its greatest brands.

Gregory Kissling (GK): It is a fantastic brand and every day I learn something new [about its history]. The heritage and legacy are immense. And also the fact that Breguet has a true manufacture – we produce everything in house but also thanks to the sister company of Swatch Group, so we are able really to keep innovating with our product.

We have also a great patrimony – almost 200 historical timepieces in our museum in Paris. Thanks to this anniversary we also have the opportunity to exhibit these timepieces [around the world]. Today you have an opportunity to see some antique timepieces [here in the new boutique]. With the new products we want to link the historical timepieces and the today’s collection.

SJX: You mentioned the production. In terms of the brand’s scale, is it where you want it to be, or do you think Breguet should be a bigger brand, smaller brand, more niche, more high-end?

GK: There’s still room for improvement, but the goal is not to produce thousands and thousands of pieces.

We have a collection with different families, so it’s not a mono-product collection. We want to keep [growing] these families, of course, not only about new dials and so on, but we want also to continue to innovate with new movements, because we have the facilities.

The knowledge is not only about having machines but you need also the right people to innovate with new calibers. It is our duty to continue to innovate with the means of today.

One example is escapements; Breguet is the father of the natural escapement. Now we have silicon; Breguet was one of the first brands to use silicon [hairsprings].

SJX: And with an overcoil.

GK: With an overcoil, but also as a flat hairspring back in 2005. Now the silicon hairspring is almost everywhere.

We need to continue to innovate but also to respect tradition – we need to keep this spirit. To give you an example, we discovered that Breguet was actually the very first watchmaker to use platinum. This is why we came up with the Tradition anniversary model with an oscillating weight in platinum instead of gold, because we wanted to tell to the audience that Breguet first used platinum for the oscillating weight.

SJX: You mentioned the manufacturing, production and movements and the Swatch Group. Being part of the group is one of the greatest strengths of Breguet. You have an ability to produce movements in-house…

GK: And cases and dials and so on…

SJX: Being able to do all of this in-house, some of the capability is also shared. How do you preserve the uniqueness of Breguet? In the past there were movements that were shared across Breguet and Blancpain.

GK: Some [past movements], like the alarm movement, were shared, but all the new calibres are unique [to the brand]. The conception and design of movements is quite unique, and there is a clear separation between the brands. [Instead] we share innovations and some technology. The magnetic regulator for the minute repeater was actually invented by Breguet for the Musicale, but then used by other [group] brands.

Breguet’s magnetic govorner in a singing bird watch by Jaquet Droz. Image – Jaquet Droz

SJX: We just discussed production and manufacturing, but in the new Souscription watch, some of it is not just that, but also handmade and hand-finished.

GK: This is something we wanted to preserve because of the blued [Breguet] hands. But now a majority of brands are producing blued hands with an oven. But with an oven you have always the same colour. But if you want to add the human touch when blueing the hand, especially this type of hand, it’s quite tricky when heated by hand. We just spend one and a half hours just producing a single hand, so the hand is finished by hand.

We wanted really to bring back this old technique, [which was possible] thanks to our restoration workshop. The workshop works on historical timepieces, but here for the first time they are helping us in production [of a new watch].

They helped not only making the single hand but also the secret signature [on the enamel dial] that is engraved with a pantograph. We can transfer the secret signature with a laser, but we did it just as it was done in the old days. In fact, we bought an old pantograph at auction, dating from the era of [A.-L.] Breguet.

It was not easy because we had to find the right technique in order to not scratch the enamel. This is probably the most impressive thing [on the dial] because many brands have enamelling or guilloche but pantograph engraving is quite unique.

SJX: When I first read the materials for the Souscription. it was notable that a pantograph was used and the hand is made by hand. Because for some years Breguet talked more about watchmaking and technology rather than hand work. 

GK: This is what we want; you have probably noticed there’s more and more the behind-the-scenes information, especially on our social media. This is definitely our new way of communication. We want to show what is behind Breguet, not only about the assembly but also about guilloché [and other artisanal techniques]. The process makes a difference for the consumer, especially for the new audience.

SJX: So would it be accurate to say that going forward Breguet won’t just be about watchmaking but also craft and art?

GK: Take our tagline, “Crafting emotion for 250 years, one invention at a time”. The best example is in the eyes of a client or journalist after the manufacture tour.

We don’t just show our workshop, you can enter into the workshop, you can talk to the artisans. You can even try guilloche or enamelling and so on. The next time you come to L’Orient, you will have the opportunity to do the flame blueing.

The Breguet manufacture

SJX: You mentioned clients and the universe of Breguet. Breguet is a very historical brand, associated with clients like Pushkin, Napoleon, places like Versailles. With that kind of history, how do you connect to the young client of today?

GK: Some of our new clients know the history. But, we have to train [our own staff] to transmit all this energy and passion. This is why we recently introduced a new learning management system to train our sales force.

We are investing a lot in terms of training, and also through social media and [key opinion leaders]. I think this something that is quite important because you know the young generation that don’t only trust on the brand but they also trust [key opinion leaders].

A half quarter repeater made for Napoleon Bonaparte’s sister, Pauline, in 1813. Image – Christie’s

SJX: And also speaking of history, Breguet also has history in aviation. The Type XX was facelifted not too long ago, but you just launched a new variant and it’s quite different from the 2023 model.

GK: Exactly. And it’s a fantastic movement by the way. We also took the opportunity to celebrate the anniversary of the very first Type XX in gold from exactly 70 years ago. Only three Type XX in gold were produced in 1955, we only have one [in the museum].

Thanks to the archives, we discovered that this Type XX in gold with a black dial was actually born with a silver dial featuring a 30-minute register instead of 15-minute. At the time it was common to change the dials and modify the watch, though today we might call it a “franken-watch”.

This is why we came up with the new Type XX [with two dials]. The [black] aluminium dial has a specific type of anodisation treatment, which is used in the space industry, absorbing up to 95% of light so you have a great readability.

We also wanted to celebrate the aviation chapter of the brand because there are only few clients who know the Breguet family also had one century of aviation innovation starting from the fifth generation, with helicopters and then airplanes.

We wanted to pay tribute to the very first transatlantic flight from Paris Le Bourget to New York on a Breguet Br.19 Super Bidon in 1930 [with the engraving on the back]. Usually we use such engraving for high-end, complicated watches, like the equation of time. Here’s [the engraving] is simpler, so we spend less time than on complications, but we still use the same métiers d’art technique.

SJX: And the design of this is very much more vintage than the 2023 model. Is this an intentional direction for you?

GK: I we wanted really to balance this collection. The current Type XX in steel, they have a date, self-winding mechanism in 42 mm, but we wanted really to extend the collection with a more vintage look. The size is really good, 38 mm. The leg-to-leg is quite big because of the design of the legs.

We were quite surprised that we could fit the movement into this case. There’s a direct integration between the movement and the case body and the distance between the counter, the register and the center are just perfect. And we decided to remove the self-winding mechanism in order to respect the dimension of the past. So there’s room for both collections. It’s a line extension I have to say and yeah, more references to come.

SJX: On the brand and on the design, I two questions about the design. One is that the Breguet design is very influential. Everyone knows Breguet hands, Breguet style, Breguet numerals.

GK: We are only brand that is named by our competitors!

SJX: Exactly. It’s a sign of success, but how you stand out? And the second question, the Souscription is a new look for Breguet. It is almost entirely different from the classical watches, but it still feels like a Breguet.

GK: Absolutely. We had a big debate internally because there is no fluted case. But if you take the history, the fluted [wristwatch] case came out around 1930.

SJX: The fluted wristwatch case was designed by the English owner [of Breguet at the time].

GK: Exactly, after [A.-L.] Breguet’s time. And the first Souscription pocket watches were made in either silver [cases] with a gold bezel and back, or completely in gold. But the case band was completely smooth without any decoration. This is why we wanted to remove some design codes. Of course, the Classique line still features the fluted case band.

We also completely redesigned the lugs because everyone is talking about case diameter, but for me, the lug-to-lug distance is more important, how it fits on the wrist.

We wanted to keep the 40 mm diameter because Breguet produced many Souscription pocket watches from 50 mm to 61 mm, and the Medaillon format of pocket watches with 40 mm diameter. But below 40 mm it’s almost impossible to read the time with precision [on a one-handed watch].

So we wanted a large dial but at the same time we wanted to optimise the ergonomic aspect of the watch. This is why we completely redesigned the case from the top view but also from the side view where lugs that are actually [integral] to the case body.

Breguet No. 1584 with smooth caseband, silver case with pink gold bezel and bow. Image – Christies, November 2013

SJX: And even the crystal is interesting from a historical perspective…

GK: We discovered during the development phase that Breguet was also the designer of the chevé-shaped glass. We have the letter Abraham-Louis Breguet wrote to the supplier [of crystals].

[Pierre] Royer produced the crystal glass for the watchmakers and Breguet actually designed the shape of this kind of glass. Because at the time the glasses were completely domed; while Breguet wanted to reduce the total thickness of the pocket watch in order to fit the watch in the pocket.

So he actually redesigned the crystal and this is why we came out with the chevé shape [for the Souscription] in order to reduce as much as possible the height of the case. And also this kind of shape also brings a lot of light which is also useful to read the time with just one single hand.

Parisian glass worker Pierre Royer is said to have invented the chevé crystal for A.-L. Breguet around 1791. Image – Verreries des Trois-Fontaines

SJX: It sounds like you were very involved in the development of the Souscription. But you didn’t join Breguet that long ago. How long did it take to develop the Souscription?

GK: [Laughs] I started officially first of October last year, but I started unofficially in September, and already had some clear ideas in July, August. The movement was already on the way [before that].

We launched the product in April and we are delivering now the watches. When you are a vertically-integrated manufacturer, you have clear ideas.

SJX: Even though you didn’t join Breguet that long ago, this product is your creation. Is it fair to say this is your first creation at Breguet?

GK: Exactly. First, but with my team, not only myself.

SJX: Historically Breguet used to do a lot of custom-made watches, and special orders.

GK: We still do. This is part of the business. We receive some requests and this is part of the DNA of the brand.

SJX: It’s not like an official programme, like say at Vacheron Constantin where they have Les Cabinotiers. Do you talk about it much?

GK: We don’t do any marketing about this, but of course everyday we receive some orders [for such watches]. Sometimes we say yes, sometimes we say no, but it’s part of the business.

Breguet’s most complicated work, No. 160, alledgedy made for Marie Antoinette. Image – L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art, Jerusalem

SJX: What can the client ask for? If somebody says they want [the Souscription] in titanium, would you make it in titanium?

GK: They usually ask for specific materials or specific guilloche pattern, because we are able to produce specific guilloché motifs. Sometimes they want a specific hand.

I’m not sure about titanium, but other precious metals [are possible]. Platinum could be an option because we discovered that Breguet produced few Souscription pocket watches in platinum. We always check if there’s a link with the past, and it’s a discussion between the client and HQ.

SJX: And continuing on that, I assume in the pipeline there will be some grand complications?

GK: Time will tell, but of course you can imagine that developing a new grand complication takes a lot of time. We need to do it in the right way.

But there are more surprises to come. Already at the end of the year will be a surprise. We don’t want only to talk about the existing or past inventions, but we want also to send a very strong signal for the future.