After Winning The Oscars Of Watchmaking, This 250-Year-Old Brand Deserves Your Undivided Attention

• Breguet reclaims centre stage after winning the Aiguille d’Or at the GPHG.
• New CEO Gregory Kissling brings clarity, confidence and modern direction.
• A 250th anniversary watch sparks renewed collector interest across the catalogue.

Breguet walked out of Geneva with the watch world’s top award and it’s a stark reminder that the horological old guard still has plenty of clout when it decides to go up against today’s hottest brands.

The Swiss luxury manufacture’s winning submission, the Classique Souscription 2025, claimed the Aiguille d’Or at the GPHG, which for the ill-informed is the watch equivalent of taking home Best Actor at the Oscars. But this is not the same as Leonardo DiCaprio finally taking the gong after decades as the bridesmaid.

No, Breguet is still one of haute horlogerie’s most revered and admired brands globally. It’s time we gave it our full attention.

Of course, Breguet’s reputation has entered a fascinating new chapter since the arrival of CEO Gregory Kissling in late 2024. His appointment gave the brand a much-needed reset, not only internally, but also in the way Breguet’s peers would perceive this venerable old brand on the world stage.

Kissling spent his first months in the workshops talking to artisans and asking how the brand could become more visible. After years of being treated as the quiet intellectual of Swiss watchmaking, Breguet suddenly had leadership that wanted to reassert the brand’s relevance and compete with its contemporaries.

It was a huge shift in approach that gave Breguet permission to step forward rather than retreat into history. Swatch Group had finally stopped leaving its best wine in the basement, using the Swiss luxury manufacture’s 250th anniversary as the perfect plaform to reposition Breguet with a modern lens.

The industry has seen similar plays from AP, Cartier and Vacheron in recent years. Breguet is now making its move with a watch that bridges heritage and modern enthusiasm without losing its soul.

But the GPHG Aiguille d’Or win for the Classique Souscription 2025 confirmed the brand was back in the conversation. A watch that only Breguet could produce, with a single hand; a hypnotic engine turned dial; a movement architecture that feels lifted from a museum drawer yet executed with modern precision.

Collectors who normally gravitate towards sport models started paying attention again, seeing the release as a reminder of what makes the brand significant. The GPHG jury clearly saw it. More importantly, collectors saw it. The Aiguille d’Or win confirmed it. And the industry had taken a second look at a sleeping giant of horology.

Now we’re seeing the inevitable talk about how this win will influence Breguet’s next chapter. Collectors will start revisiting the current Breguet catalogue with fresh eyes and models like the Marine will suddenly feel like an underrated gem hiding in plain sight.

Across the board, we’ll likely see more accessible complications. Fewer references, but with a clearer identity across the board with a stronger push behind core icons.

Take a look: the Tradition continues to be one of the great contemporary movements and should be championed across the brand’s fututre references. The Classique range has some of the purest dial making in Swiss watchmaking, which may well become Breguet’s renewed identy in the modern market.

It does seem, though, that Breguet finally feels like a brand that understands its strengths and is willing to put them forward. Once a blind spot for collectors, perhaps overshadowed by flashier marketing or TikTok-friendly ambassadors, this win will give Breguet’s enduring appeal the spike it deserves as it shapes the next chapter of its 250 year history. One that will no doubt shaped by a brand that has remembered exactly who it is.