French watch. The best brands and their history

French watch brands are not as habitual as Swiss and Japanese brands, but it is worth mentioning their position in the history of watchmaking.

In fact, in the 18th century, Paris was one of the most important cities in the area, thanks to watchmakers such as Jean-Antoine Lepin and his student Abraham-Louis Breguet.

Lepine was responsible for leveling and reducing the amount of movement at that time, which allowed the emergence of future pocket watches and clocks.

Breguet continued his mentorship and advanced in the field of watchmaking more than any other watchmaker, thanks to inventions such as the famous tourbillon. In fact, his brand is still habitual and continues to genera luxury watches.

French watches are lagging behind the industrial era, and other countries such as Russia and Germany are surpassing them in producing large quantities of reliable and affordable watches.

However, its proximity to Switzerland, especially La Chaux-de-Fonds, the country bordering on watches, has influenced many French watch brands that still function today.

In this articulo, we will look at the most important watches at affordable prices and everyday life, as well as those that focus on luxury design.

✚ The best French watch brand

➤ Michelle Herbelin

Founded in 1947 in Sharkemon, France, on the Swiss border, Michel Harberin is one of the French watch brands that originated in the 18th century.

The brand was redesigned in 1972 by Michelle's son, Junk Road Harberin, who was responsible for adopting the new marketing strategy that laid the foundations for the current design.

A watch from the upper middle class with a Swiss movement, which combines the best French design with the best Swiss engineering. In fact, the brand's motto is "Swiss heart, French soul".

Egg yolk

Based in Besançon, France, Yema is one of the French watch brands born in a shelter on the Swiss border.

Founded by Henry Louis Belmont in 1948, some of his clocks have been part of various historical events, including the first Franco-American orbital missions and the last space missions in Proxima.

Today, the brand has a diverse collection inspired by adventure sports such as diving, motor racing and sailing.

One of his most famous models is Jema Superman (pictured). Underwater diver up to 300 meters. It features Swiss traffic and a brand-specific frame locking system in 3 hours.

➤ Bushat

Beuchat is best known for diving accessories, but what you may not know is that it is also one of the best watch brands in France.

The brand was founded in Marseille in 1934 by Giorgio Bush, a pioneer in the world of diving and a longtime descendant of Swiss watches.

The collection includes mainly diving watches, but the company also produces several other models of dresses, all of which are highly waterproof.

➤ Dietrich

Although relatively new, the watchmaker Dietrich quickly gained the attention of the watch industry thanks to its strange exagonal design.

The French watch brand was founded in 2014 by French industrial designer Emmanuel Dietrich, who decided to design his own watch after working for various luxury brands such as Hermès.

Dietrich is not too expensive, as it produces luxury watches with a unique design, sapphire crystals and usually Japanese self-winding mechanisms.

➤ Baltic Sea

Baltic was founded in 2017 by antique watch seguidor Etienne Malek, who was influenced by his father's collection, and launched the Kickstarter campaign to create his own brand.

Like many other French watch brands, the Baltic Sea operates in Besançon, France, but imports movements from different parts of the world, especially from Japan.

Baltic watches are mainly inspired by the vintage design of the 1940s with high-quality mechanical movement.

Today, French brands are best known for the fact that their watches offer first-class quality at a reasonable price.

➤ Breguet

Breguet is probably one of the most famous French watch brands. In fact, it was founded by Abraham-Louis Breguet himself in the 18th century.

The brand was born to provide luxury watches to European royalty, whose creations were a major advance at the time, including the first self-winding watches and the famous tourbillon.

Over the years, the company has changed its owner, but has not lost the essence of luxury watches with a high level of construction. He currently belongs to the Swatch group.

➤ Mercy

Originally a French retailer of household goods, Merci has been very successful in producing stylish and functional watches at affordable prices.

When French President Emmanuel Macron himself wore one of his watches, the LMM-01, the brand established itself as one of the most important in the French country.

Today, Mercy's catalog offers all kinds of watches, including mechanical watches with Swiss machines, all made of high quality materials at a reasonable price.

➤ Added 1857

Dodane is a French brand specializing in aviation watches. Founded in 1857 by Alphonse de Dan and his father-in-law Francis Xavier Joubert.

The company broke up in 1994, but was re-established a few years later by Cedric Dodane, the fifth member of the family.

Today, the company continues to genera reliable watches for civilian and military pilots, and one of its main customers is the NATO Air Force.

➤ Bel and Ross

Bruno Belamic and Carlos A. Founded in 1992 by Rosillo, Bell & Ross is a brand focused on the production of durable and functional watches.

The brand combines durable construction with a curious and fácil square design to make a clear distinction from other French watch brands.

One of its most distinctive models is the BR01, a watch inspired by aircraft tools that lays the foundations for the brand's design.

➤ BRM

Bernard Richards Manufacturing (BRM) is a French watch brand whose design is inspired mainly by the world of motorcycles.

Since the launch of the brand's first watch in 2003, BRM has continued to grow and now produces thousands of watches sold mainly in northwestern France.

Ti Cartier

Cartier's history dates back to the 19th century, especially in 1847, when founder Louis-Francois Cartier opened his first store in Paris.

Grandchildren Jack, Pierre and Louis raised the brand to today's world recognition.

Since then, the success of this amazing jewelry and watch company has been numerous and many of its designs have gone down in history. He was a source of inspiration for much later watches, including his famous tank watch.

The company currently belongs to the Swiss group Richemont, but Cartier is headquartered in Paris, France.

➤ Chanel

Founded in Paris in 1910 by the habitual fashion house Coco Chanel, it not only produces bags and perfumes, but also has a line of watches.

The first Chanel watches first appeared in 1987 and the design was rightly called PREMIÉRE. The work was successful and after its debut the company opened its first watch boutique.

Over the years, the line of branded watches has grown and new models like the J12 have appeared. There is also a tourbillon version.

Top sales

➤ Pequignet

Founded by Emile Pequinier in 1973, the brand is based in Morto, France, and began designing its own movement, Caliber Royale.

Pequignet is one of the small independent watch companies that produces luxury watches with elegant sophistication and engineering details that collectors often appreciate.

Also very distinctive for the brand is the Moorealink bracelet, inspired by Emil Pekinet's own racehorse.

➤ Fugue

Although a brand has recently been introduced, Fugue produces watches whose modular concept is at least very innovative and practical.

The company launched its first watch in 2017 on a modular concept that allows the exchange of certain parts such as cases, straps and dials between different brands of models.

Although the founder is French, Fugue manufactures watches in Switzerland and all components, including the movement, are manufactured in Switzerland.

R ZRC

Another French company with a long history is ZRC. Founded in 1904, it was not recognized in the watchmaking world until 1964, when it made the habitual diving watch Grand Fons 300.

The success of the company is based solely on the watch of this curious diver. Its main feature is the crown, attached at 6 o'clock, so as not to interfere with the game of the wrist.

Originally designed for the French Navy, this work was reissued in 2015 with a fairly true look at the original and improved ETA2824-2 movement.

✚ Other French watch brands

NS

NS

L

V

Last updated backlinks and images for 2021-08-09.