Though born of different backgrounds, Breguet and Blancpain have the French navy to thank, in some way or other, for jump-starting their maritime collections.
Ordained by The King
Call it skill or serendipity if you will, but Abraham-Louis Breguet had it in measures. Admired for his all-encompassing wisdom in horology, the watchmaker was whisked away from routine and installed in the eminent Bureau des Longitudes in Paris in December 1814.
Best described as a band of brainiacs, the bureau comprised some 20 astronomers, geophysicists, geometers, physicists, seafarers and associate artists devoted to research. Their mission? To present annual publications detailing the latest discoveries surrounding astronomy. Something of a black sheep, Breguet was the sole spokesman in his line of work, but his words were deemed as good as gold.
Barely…