Belgium retailer Bouverne recently organized an exhibition of Breguet timepieces. The focus has been put on the Type XX collection, which tells of the close link between the manufacture and aviation.
If there is one field other than watchmaking in which the Breguet family has also made a name for itself, that would definitely be this one: a distinction owed to Louis Breguet for his pioneering work in aviation. The great-great-grandson of Abraham-Louis Breguet developed the gyroplane, the forerunner of the helicopter, and in 1916 the Breguet XIV plane. Between 1917 and 1926, around 8,000 of these legendary aircrafts were acquired by an estimated fifteen countries.
In parallel, the Breguet watch company developed chronograph mechanisms fitted on cockpit dashboards and began producing pilot’s watches as well. This led to the development of Breguet's first wrist chronographs in 1935 , to which the modern Type XX collection pays tribute.
