Breitling

Léon Breitling opened a workshop in Saint-Imier, in the Swiss Jura, in 1884, making chronographs and counters; the company moved to La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1892. Under his son Gaston and grandson Willy it shaped the modern chronograph, with a pusher separate from the crown in 1915 and a second reset pusher in 1934. The Chronomat arrived in 1942 with a slide-rule bezel, the Navitimer of the early 1950s turned the idea into a flight computer for pilots, and the Superocean diver followed in 1957.

After the quartz crisis the Breitling family sold the name in 1979 to Ernest Schneider, who moved the company to Grenchen and, from 1999, had every movement certified by the COSC. The in-house calibre B01 followed in 2009. CVC Capital Partners bought a majority stake in 2017 and appointed Georges Kern as chief executive; Partners Group became the majority shareholder in 2022. The current range is built around the Navitimer, Chronomat, Superocean, Premier and Avenger lines.