Why Breguet’s 250th Anniversary Is So Much More Than A Milestone

The tension between the past and the future is one that every watch brand grapples with, but it’s a tightrope walk that becomes increasingly difficult over time. For Breguet, celebrating its 250th anniversary in 2025 as one of the oldest watchmakers on the planet with an uninterrupted history, this balance is key as it pushes forward with the legacy of a quarter-millennium behind it.

Despite the weight of its history, Breguet is cementing 2025 as one of its best years of the 21st century. It has an important anniversary to celebrate, which Breguet is doing so with a series of exciting special edition releases, and also has a new CEO in the energetic industry veteran, Gregory Kissling, who has a vision for the future that should excite watch collectors around the world.

“It’s been a busy year,” Kissling tells me, laughing, as we perch in Breguet’s new flagship boutique in Singapore. While it would be an understatement to say his schedule has been packed this year, his energy and enthusiasm were visible from the moment we shook hands.

Already in August 2025, Breguet unveiled five new releases, with highlights I spent some time with, including the single-handed Classique Souscription 2025, two extremely wearable chronographs in the Type XX Chronographe 2075s, and the brand’s first-ever mysterious flying tourbillon-equipped Classique Tourbillon Sidéral 7255.

I’ll get to the importance of the Classique Souscription 2025, but both the Type XX Chronographe 2075s and the Classique Tourbillon Sidéral 7255 are exactly the kinds of watches that appeal to collectors. 

The two chronographs are smaller than previous Type XX references, cased in 38.3mm of gold (measuring a relatively slim 13.2mm), and have dials without a visually distracting date window. Equally appealing is the Tourbillon Sidéral, which shows off a medley of high-watchmaking, from the sapphire-suspended tourbillon and the Quai de l’Horloge guilloché movement engraving, to the aventurine enamel dial and perfect case proportions. 

“When I joined Breguet, the first thing I was impressed by was how verticalised it is as a manufacturer and how talented the people are. The strength of the brand is its legacy and its patrimony, but the facilities are remarkable, and so is the depth of knowledge and level of craftsmanship within the company.”

Kissling himself brings a wealth of knowledge to the role, not only as an executive who’s spent plenty of time at the highest levels of Swatch Group, but someone with deep technical expertise. Trained as a microengineer, Kissling began his career in the industry as a movement constructor 

He also spearheaded the launch of many incredibly successful watches, including the Omega x Swatch Moonswatch, the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M 007 Edition, and the revival of the legendary Omega 321 calibre that went to the moon.

Breguet began the year with the debut of the Classique Souscription 2025, created as a nod to the original Souscription watches that A.L. Breguet began producing in 1795. Other than the GPHG-winning Classique Chronométrie 7727 of 2014, the Classique Souscription is the most significant watch the brand has released in decades. If you’ve never heard of a souscription watch before, it translates from the French to “subscription” and requires clients to pay a deposit for their watch before they receive it.

“Without [Breguet’s original Souscription watches], we wouldn’t be sitting here today,” Kissling explains. “The Souscription watches helped Breguet’s watchmaking survive after the French Revolution (Breguet famously made a watch for Marie Antoinette), because not only was he a brilliant watchmaker, but he was also a brilliant businessman, and he was the first to have the idea of what today we could call “crowdfunding” for a project.”

Before Breguet’s Souscription concept, watchmakers would take payment upon delivery of a watch, which made cash flow for their business difficult. Creating a watch by hand is difficult today, but in the 1700s it was an extraordinarily time-consuming endeavour.

“To give you an idea [of how important the Souscription watches were], Breguet invented the tourbillon in 1796, but didn’t sell one till ten years later, in 1806. It was thanks to the Souscription that he was able to finance his work during those years.”

Breguet’s Souscription watches represent the very lifeblood of the brand, and to relaunch it as the debut anniversary edition this year – 220 years after it was first conceived – feels like the turning of a new page for Breguet. 

Beyond its historical significance, it’s also a striking watch to experience in the metal. Measuring 40mm in diameter and 10.8mm thick, it features the same white grand feu enamel dial, single flame-blued Breguet hand, secret signature engraved by hand into the dial using an A.L. Breguet-era pantograph, and even the chevé-profile sapphire crystal over the dial (originally invented by a Parisian glassmaker for Breguet in 1791) as the original Souscription watches.

With the celebrations of Breguet’s past underway, Kissling still has his focus set firmly on the future of the watchmaker, and it’s his experience working on the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch that offers a window into his plans.

The success of the MoonSwatch wasn’t simply because it was an affordable chronograph that resembled a Speedmaster. It created record-breaking hype around the world thanks to its masterful communication game plan, a deft launch strategy that shared more with the relentlessly-paced world of sneakers than watchmaking, and regular roll-out of new releases that kept fans coming back for more.

“Agility is the right word, and that’s something that I bring to this role, both in the way I want us to communicate and also in the way we unify within the company,” Kissling tells me.

“Working together is key when you’re developing and launching a product, but you also need to communicate exactly what the product is and what you want to do with it, because it’s much easier to move quickly when you are united around the goal.”

His focus on communication isn’t only within the company, however. Kissling also understands the importance of continuing to communicate Breguet’s uniquely important history to existing and future clients alike.

A part of this strategy is Les Tiroirs du Temps (“The Drawers of Time”), a touring exhibition currently opening in several boutiques around the world that showcases Breguet’s most important historical timepieces and technical innovations.

For the boutique opening in Singapore, an original Souscription pocketwatch, an early tourbillon pocketwatch, and the chronograph that inspired this year’s Type XX Chronographe 2075BH release were all on display.

“We really want to speak with the current generation, because it’s one thing for our clients who already know Breguet, but we want to reach a wider audience.”

“On social media, we’ve introduced more content that takes you behind the scenes at Breguet. We want to show the expertise that goes into creating a single component, because what we do isn’t just about assembling the components, but how each component is crafted and decorated.”

All watchmakers love celebrating an anniversary, but for Breguet, 2025 feels more significant than a straightforward celebration of its past. It feels like the beginning of a new era for the brand – an era of traditional watchmaking that continues to push forward, while honouring the countless innovations that came before.

“For me, the Souscription is very emblematic of what Breguet has always been,” Kissling responds when I ask about his favourite watch of 2025. “But it’s also emblematic because it represents a new chapter.”

Breguet’s 250th anniversary year is approaching its end, and there are still a handful of special editions to be released. But while we’ll need to wait and see what Breguet has in store over the next few months, collectors and enthusiasts alike should be even more excited to see what Kissling and his team have planned for 2026 and beyond.