“When a customer knows the life and the work of the founder, he understands the value of the brand he has acquired or is acquiring”

a collection of more than 200 pieces that have gone through the scrutiny of Emmanuel.

If Breguet acquires a lot of its pieces at public auctions, it also receives many requests from private owners or auction houses themselves. “A lot of fakes were made a long time ago, which can be confusing for some collectors,” he says. “They need us to authenticate.” He also adds that because of this situation, he knows in advance what will come out in the auction market.

60 per cent of the images are new. These additions are of antique pieces that this seventhgeneration direct descendant of Breguet’s founder discovered recently. With the new images comes new information. The last chapter, Emmanuel adds, is all about the recent years of the brand. The 452-page tome with 500 illustrations encompasses four years of research. “I had to read all the investigations,” the graduate of history from Sorbonne University in Paris added. “It is basic for a historian to find his material in the archives.”

The impressive archive of Breguet is stored in its museum on top of the brand’s boutique at No6 Place Vendôme, Paris. The care of this exceptional body of information rests on Emmanuel, who joined Breguet in 1993 as the curator of the historical heritage. The archives date back from 1787. Data for the period between 1775 to 1787, however, have been looted and destroyed by revolutionaries in 1794. “The history of the brand is unique,” Emmanuel said. “It is good to be able to transmit knowledge. If in the manufacture we transmit craftsmanship, in the archives we transmit the history of the brand.”

Emmanuel explains the value of his role: “A brand’s history is also its spirit. When a customer knows the life and the work of the founder, he understands the value of the brand he has acquired or is acquiring.”

In writing, what Emmanuel found most interesting was his goal of putting the history of watchmaking as well as the life of Abraham-Louis in a historical context. “He started before the French revolution, lived during the Napoleon era and after. I tried to restitute the situation in different European countries because he sold in many countries,” Emmanuel says in an almost paean-like tone.

His favourite place is the Breguet Museum, where he continues his important work of documenting history. Will a third edition be in the offing? Most likely, and perhaps on the role Breguet played in the history of another field because, Emmanuel said, “My family played a role not only in watchmaking but in technology.”